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Arrested in January 2021, Mackey could face up to 10 years in prison. His sentencing he is scheduled for August 16th.
His attorney, Andrew Frisch, said in an email that Manhattan’s Second Circuit Court of Appeals had multiple grounds for overturning the conviction.
“I’m optimistic about the possibility of an appeal,” Frisch said.
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace says a jury has rejected McKee’s cynical attempt to use First Amendment free speech protections to defend himself against criminal liability for a voter suppression scheme. bottom.
“Today’s ruling proves that the defendant’s misconduct crossed the line into criminal activity.
The government alleged that between September 2016 and November 2016, Mackie conspired with several other internet influencers to spread fraudulent messages to Clinton supporters.
Prosecutors told jurors during the trial that Mackie urged supporters of then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to “vote” via text message or social media, and that those endorsements were legally valid votes. He said he knew he wasn’t.
At about the same time, prosecutors said, he sent out a tweet suggesting it was important to limit “black voter turnout” in voting booths. It features a photo of a black woman holding up a sign urging people to “avoid the lines” and “vote from home,” court documents said.
One image, which used social media pitches to encourage fake voting, used a font similar to that used by the Clinton campaign in the real ad, prosecutors said. Others tried to imitate Clinton’s ads in other ways, they added.
By Election Day 2016, at least 4,900 unique phone numbers were texting “Hillary” or something similar to a text number, spread by multiple deceptive campaign images tweeted by Mackie and co-conspirators. said the prosecutor.
Twitter said it is working closely with the appropriate authorities on the matter.
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