| Charged With
Fraud in 2016 Election Mackey a/k/a Ricky
Vaughn Gets EDNY Hearing Feb 17
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
Podcast
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
EDNY COURT, Feb 3
– In prosecution for fraud in
the 2016 election, Douglass
Mackey a/k/a “Ricky Vaughn"
appeared on February 3 before
U.S. District Court for the
Eastern District of New York
Magistrate Judge Roanne L.
Mann. He had additional
conditions of release imposed
- psychological counseling -
on top of a $50,000 bond. Complaint
on Patreon here.
Podcast here.
Inner City Press live tweeted
it, here:
Defendant says he
wants a preliminary hearing -
Feb 17, 10 am.
AUSA: It would
take a few hours. But I'm not
sure it will happen. [Probably
meaning, indictment before
then].
Judge: I
understand there's an agreed
upon bond... I've asked for
additional conditions:
psychological counseling for
Mr. Mackey.
Defense: No
objection. Judge: He is under
treatment, and he will pay, as
he has retained counsel, no?
Defense: Yes, Your Honor,
that's my understanding.
Judge: And
he'll be monitored by
Pre-Trial Services in his
district of residence? Yes.
And we have received the bond.
Judge: No contact with
potential witnesses or
co-conspirators except in
presence of counsel. Surrender
passport. Has it been?
Mackey: It has
been.
Judge: This
is a $50,000 bond. You are not
putting up cash, but if you
violate it, the government
could collect judgment against
your savings or assets or over
time, by garnishing wages...
The bond is approved.
AUSA: Gov't moves
for an exclusion of time...
Defense: We
object. The government could
have moved by indictment but
chose not to. Judge: They are
only seeking to exclude the
seven days from Florida to
hear.
AUSA: The
operative word is "shall."
It's not optional. Judge: I'm
granting the govt's
application
Judge: I asked to
be informed if there is an
indictment before the day of
the hearing, I'm setting aside
a lot of time, so do let me
know. This proceeding is
concluded. Everyone please
stay safe.
From EDNY
prosecutors: In 2016, Mackey
established an audience on
Twitter with approximately
58,000 followers. A February
2016 analysis by the MIT Media
Lab ranked Mackey as the 107th
most important influencer of
the then-upcoming Election,
ranking it above outlets and
individuals, among others,
such as NBC News (#114),
Stephen Colbert (#119) and
Newt Gingrich (#141). As
alleged in the complaint,
between September 2016 and
November 2016, in the lead up
to the November 8, 2016,
United States Presidential
Election, Mackey conspired
with others to use social
media platforms, including
Twitter, to disseminate
fraudulent messages designed
to encourage supporters of one
of the presidential candidates
(the “Candidate”) to “vote”
via text message or social
media and thus to fail to cast
their ballots in a legally
valid manner. For
example, on November 1, 2016,
Mackey tweeted an image that
featured an African American
woman standing in front of an
“African Americans for [the
Candidate]” sign. The image
included the following text:
“Avoid the Line. Vote from
Home. Text ‘[Candidate’s first
name]’ to 59925[.] Vote for
[the Candidate] and be a part
of history.” The fine print at
the bottom of the image
stated: “Must be 18 or older
to vote. One vote per person.
Must be a legal citizen of the
United States. Voting by text
not available in Guam, Puerto
Rico, Alaska or Hawaii. Paid
for by [Candidate] for
President 2016.” The tweet
included the typed hashtags
“#Go [Candidate]” and another
slogan frequently used by the
Candidate. On or about and
before Election Day 2016, at
least 4,900 unique telephone
numbers texted “[Candidate’s
first name]” or some
derivative to the 59925 text
number, which was used in
multiple deceptive campaign
images tweeted by the
defendant and his
co-conspirators.
"If
convicted of the charge,
conspiracy against rights,
Mackey faces up to 10 years in
prison. The charges in the
complaint are allegations, and
the defendant is presumed
innocent unless and until
proven guilty."
***
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