The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned the criminal conviction of conservative meme-maker Douglass Mackey, ruling that the government failed to present sufficient evidence that he knowingly joined a conspiracy to violate voting rights when he posted satirical memes ahead of the 2016 election.
Mackey, known online as “Ricky Vaughn,” was convicted in March 2023 for sharing memes that suggested Hillary Clinton supporters could vote by text message. On Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit reversed the decision, finding the government’s evidence insufficient to prove that Mackey knowingly joined any agreement to deprive voters of their rights.
“The mere fact that Mackey posted the memes, even assuming that he did so with the intent to injure other citizens in the exercise of their right to vote, is not enough,” the judges wrote. “The government was obligated to show that Mackey knowingly entered into an agreement with other people to pursue that objective. This the government failed to do.”
The court found no evidence that Mackey had participated in group messages allegedly used to coordinate the meme campaign. It also noted that the memes in question were already circulating on the public internet and that the government relied on speculation to claim Mackey’s involvement was part of a larger plot.
Following the ruling, Mackey declared victory in a series of posts on X:
“BREAKING: THE SECOND CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS HAS THROWN OUT MY CONVICTION FOR LACK OF EVIDENCE
THE CASE HAS BEEN REMANDED TO THE DISTRICT COURT WITH ORDERS TO IMMEDIATELY DISMISS.
HALLELUJAH!”
“Praise God.”
“God is good.”
“Now we sue.”
“UNANIMOUS DECISION by both Republican and Democrat judges.”
“ I would like to thank God, thank my family, thank my beautiful wife, attorney Andrew Frisch, the incredible attorneys at Jones Day, and YOU—the friends who prayed and donated and spread the word since day one.
“I can finally get my guns back.”
Mackey urged supporters to contribute to his legal fund at GiveSendGo and MemeDefenseFund.com to help cover legal expenses and support his planned lawsuit against the Department of Justice.
The decision is a major blow to the Biden administration’s controversial use of a Civil War-era statute to prosecute a meme posted nearly a decade ago. Mackey was charged under 18 U.S.C. 241, a law originally intended to combat violent intimidation of voters by groups like the Ku Klux Klan. Mackey’s legal team and supporters criticized the ACLU for staying silent on the case, despite its implications for political speech, and noted that the DOJ waited until January 2021 — just days after President Biden took office — to bring the charges.
The case exposed a glaring double standard, as public figures on the left have made similar jokes about misleading voters without facing any legal consequences. Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, for example, told Trump supporters to “vote late” on his show, implying they should cast their ballots after Election Day. The Biden DOJ has not charged him or others with voter interference.
Mackey’s defense team argued that the meme was satire and protected political speech. The court agreed that posting a joke does not amount to a federal crime unless there is clear evidence of an unlawful agreement. The court said the government never proved Mackey saw any of the supposed planning messages. Since he could not have joined a conspiracy he did not know about, the charge could not stand.
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