被称为“里基·沃恩”(Ricky Vaughn)的社交媒体影响者道格拉斯·麦基(Douglass Mackey)周三被判入狱七个月，原因是他虚假地向希拉里·克林顿的支持者保证，他们可以通过短信或社交媒体帖子在2016年总统大选中投票。
麦基是根据三k党法案被起诉的，该法案是在重建时期制定的，以回应三k党阻止最近被释放的黑人投票的努力。
在麦基的判决之前，美国地方法官安·唐纳利否认麦基试图撤销判决或获准重新审判。
根据麻省理工学院编制的一份名单，麦基在2015年26岁时开始用笔名“里奇·沃恩”在Twitter上发帖，在Twitter上聚集了5.1万名粉丝，是关于2016年总统选举的“最具影响力的声音”之一
纽约的联邦检察官表示，麦基有意制造标签，通过制造“争议”来“制造尽可能多的混乱”...唯一的目的就是诋毁希拉里·克林顿。”
根据庭审证词，2016年11月1日下午5点30分，麦基发布了第一条推文，错误地宣布人们可以通过手机短信登记投票。其他推文紧随其后。
根据法庭记录，有一条推文的特色是一名黑人妇女站在“非裔美国人支持希拉里”的海报前，并附有一条信息说，“不要排队。在家投票”以及一个要发送的号码。
2023年9月26日，前国务卿希拉里·克林顿在华盛顿特区国务院发布她的官方肖像前发表讲话。
Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA via Shutterstock
另一条推特上有一张克林顿的照片，标语是“节省时间”。避开这条线。在家投票”和文本号码。
其他推文包括# ImWithHer和#GoHillary标签。
辩方辩称，短信投票计划不可能愚弄任何人，麦基在选举日一周前发推文的时间驳斥了他打算欺骗选民的说法。
“被告在一个危险的计划中将虚假信息武器化，以阻止包括黑人、棕色人种和妇女在内的目标群体参与我们的民主，”美国司法部长Breon Peace说。“这一突破性的起诉表明我们致力于起诉那些犯下威胁我们民主的罪行并试图剥夺人民宪法权利的人。”
Twitter influencer sentenced for trying to trick Clinton supporters into voting by text
Douglass Mackey, the social media influencer known as "Ricky Vaughn," was sentenced Wednesday to seven months in prison for falsely assuring supporters of Hillary Clinton they could cast their vote in the 2016 presidential election through text messages or social media posts.
Mackey was prosecuted under the Ku Klux Klan Act that was enacted during the Reconstruction era in response to efforts by the KKK to prevent recently emancepated Blacks from voting.
Ahead of Mackey's sentencing, U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly denied Mackey's attempt to set aside the verdict or be granted a new trial.
Mackey was 26 years old in 2015 when he began posting on Twitter under the pseudonym "Ricky Vaughn," amassing 51,000 followers on Twitter and ranking among the "most influential voices" posting about the 2016 presidential election, according to a list compiled by M.I.T.
Federal prosecutors in New York said Mackey was intent on originating hashtags designed to "cause as much chaos as possible" by creating "controversy ... for the sole purpose of disparaging Hillary Clinton."
At 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 1, 2016, Mackey published the first tweet that falsely announced that people could register their vote by texting on their phones, according to trial testimony. Additional tweets followed.
According to court records, one tweet featured an image of a Black woman in front of a poster for "African Americans for Hillary," with a message saying, "Avoid the line. Vote from home," along with a number to text.
Another tweet featured an image of Clinton with the tagline, "Save Time. Avoid The Line. Vote from home," with the text number.
Other tweets included the hashtags #ImWithHer and #GoHillary.
The defense argued that the text-to-vote scheme could not have fooled anyone, and that the timing of Mackey's tweets a week before Election Day refuted the claim that he meant to trick voters.
"The defendant weaponized disinformation in a dangerous scheme to stop targeted groups, including black and brown people and women, from participating in our democracy," said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace. "This groundbreaking prosecution demonstrates our commitment to prosecuting those who commit crimes that threaten our democracy and seek to deprive people of their constitutional right to vote."
