Far-Right Influencer Who Spread Misinformation Sentenced to 7 Months for Election Interference in 2016

Far-Right Twitter Personality Sentenced For Posting False Ads Targeting Black Voters During 2016 Election

Douglass Mackey, a far-right social media influencer also known as Ricky Vaughn, was sentenced to seven months in prison and handed a $15,000 fine for trying to trick voters into believing they could vote by text message during the 2016 US Presidential election.
The influential Twitter user posted ads and memes falsely instructing Democrat Hillary Clinton's supporters to vote through text messages or social media.
By Election Day 2016, at least 4,900 unique phone numbers texted 'Hillary' to a specific number used in multiple deceptive campaign images that Mackey and his co-conspirators tweeted.
Breon Peace, US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, dubbed Mackey's tactics as 'fraudulent actions' attempting to 'deprive individuals from exercising their sacred right to vote for the candidate of their choice in the 2016 Presidential Election.'
Mackey intends to appeal his sentence according to his attorney, Andrew Frisch.
The prosecution marks a groundbreaking use of the Ku Klux Klan Act, a law created during the Reconstruction era to counteract efforts by the KKK to suppress Black votes.