A Florida man who was an ardent support of former President Trump on Twitter was charged Wednesday with election interference after allegedly running a scam in 2016 that fooled thousands of people into believing they could vote via text message.
In a press release, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the arrest of 31-year-old Douglass Mackey, who went by the name “Ricky Vaughn” on Twitter in several now-deleted accounts.
The DOJ release details that Mackey allegedly conspired with others using Twitter to trick U.S. voters into believing they could cast valid ballots in the 2016 election via text message.
“According to the allegations in the indictment, the defendant exploited a social media platform to infringe one the of most basic and sacred rights guaranteed by the Constitution: the right to vote,” said acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas McQuaid in a statement. “This indictment underscores the department’s commitment to investigating and prosecuting those who would undermine citizens’ voting rights.”
Representatives for Twitter did not immediately return a request for comment from The Hill.
The DOJ did not specify which candidate’s supporters were targeted by the scam, but archived images from that time show a number of Twitter accounts sharing images encouraging supporters of Hillary Clinton, Trump’s 2016 opponent, to text the same number included in the press release.
In one tweet highlighted by the Justice Department, Mackey’s account urged followers to “Avoid the Line. Vote from Home,” and to text Clinton’s name to a certain number in order to cast their ballot ahead of time.
The posts, which originated from several accounts, were reported at the time by a number of news outlets.
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- Discussion
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DOJ: Social media influencer charged and arrested for alleged interference in 2016 election https://t.co/DE30T1toCu pic.twitter.com/hpBisbOLLy
— The Hill (@thehill) January 27, 2021
Woooow. Notorious troll and white nationalist Ricky Vaughn (real name Douglass Mackey) charged with election interference for "disseminating misinformation designed to deprive individuals of their constitutional right to vote" in the 2016 election. Facing up to 10 years. pic.twitter.com/xdQzCYF9Ja
— Brandy Zadrozny (@BrandyZadrozny) January 27, 2021
Douglass Mackey – aka Ricky Vaughn – harassed the hell out of my kids in 2016.
I welcome the O.F.F. this moment presents.
Buy popcorn.
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) January 28, 2021
Worth noting also that Ricky Vaughn aka Douglass Mackey very actively boosted the ten_gop account created and run by Russia. https://t.co/f265p0Mip7
— Sara Danner Dukic (@saradannerdukic) January 27, 2021
The utter terror in some circles over #RickyVaughn and #Microchip is telling. This isn't a "meme" or a "joke" – this is voter suppression, of African-American voters specifically. Enjoy jail, boys. pic.twitter.com/bg0SXJ26YJ
— Louise Mensch, M.A. (@LouiseMensch) January 28, 2021
When Trump said the election was stolen, what he really meant was his supporters had tried to steal it. Trump supporter, Ricky Vaughn, indicted for trying to get black voters in 2016 to skip the polls and vote by text instead. https://t.co/vu15pw5wKM
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) January 27, 2021
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