US: Far-right activist convicted of voter suppression in 2016 elections

The US Justice Department announced that a far-right activist was convicted over attempts of voter suppression during the 2016 elections. The activist faces up to 10 years in prison.

The DOJ announced on Friday last week that far-right activist Douglass Mackey, who has a social media following of 58,000 on Twitter, was charged by a federal jury with election interference during the 2016 elections. Mackey, who is also referred to as Ricky Vaughn, was convicted of conspiracy against rights that stemmed from his efforts to deprive individuals of their right to vote. Mackey, who is a supporter of former President Donald Trump, faces up to 10 years in prison.

In 2016, Mackey ranked 107th most important influencer of the then-presidential election, according to the MIT Media Lab.

Mackey was charged in 2021 by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, who said Mackey was conspiring with others to spread disinformation on social media and urged people to use invalid means to cast their ballots, such as text messages. Mackey’s lawyer said he would appeal the ruling.

“Today’s verdict proves that the defendant’s fraudulent actions crossed a line into criminality and flatly rejects his cynical attempt to use the constitutional right of free speech as a shield for his scheme to subvert the ballot box and suppress the vote,” said US attorney Breon Peace.

The civil organization, Southern Poverty Law Center, said that Mackey has also previously expressed support for hate groups.

Trump would later lose the 2020 elections to Democratic President Joe Biden and has since sought to claim election fraud as the reason for his loss, culminating on January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol that left dozens of police officers injured and several people dead. The former Republican president is now facing criminal charges when the grand jury regarding a 2016 hush-money case involving adult film star Stormy Daniels.

The former president, the first president to be indicted of potential crimes, is expected to arrive in New York on Tuesday at a time when he plans to make another bid for the presidency in 2024. While the judge authorized Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to disclose that the former president was indicted, it remains to be seen what charges were made against him.