DOJ Goes After Creator Of Hillary Meme In Dangerous Case Putting 1A At Risk

The Department of Justice (D.O.J.) is trying a federal case that went to court this week against Douglass Mackey. Mackey was indicted in 2021 for using a meme advising how to vote for Hillary Clinton during the 2016 Presidential election. The trial is being called an assault on the 1st Amendment.

Mackey was charged under 18 U.S.C. § 241, a 100-year-old law written to prosecute the Klu Klux Klan for violence that has never been extended before to speech. 1A scholar Eugene Volokh explains in an article published on February 9, 2021, “there is no limit to how this law could be applied. The law is also not limited to elections, it extends to anyone who conspires to deprive someone of their rights.”

While it is not clear how the post deprived anyone of voting, the satirical meme Mackey created, under the pseudonym Ricky Vaughn on Twitter, told Clinton voters they could vote for her by texting “Hillary” to a specific phone number.

Meanwhile, the author of another satirical tweet, posted on November 8, 2016, the day of the Presidential election, has not been charged with anything.

Hey 🇺🇸Trump Supporters🇺🇸! Skip poll lines at #Election2016 and TEXT in your vote! Text votes are legit. Or vote tomorrow on Super Wednesday! pic.twitter.com/ES34HV0yad

— Kristina Wong ❄️ (@mskristinawong) November 8, 2016

Tucker Carlson, shared his concerns during his broadcast here: