2,279 videos 1,365,173,983 views US Joined Aug 30, 2018
Charlie Kirk is the Founder and President of Turning Point USA, the largest and fastest growing conservative youth activist organization in the country with over 250,000 student members, over 150 full-time staff, and a presence on over 2,000 high school and college campuses nationwide. Charlie is also the Chairman of Students for Trump, which aims to activate one million new college voters on campuses in battleground states in the lead up to the 2020 presidential election. His social media reaches over 100 million people per month and according to Axios, he is one of the "top 10 most engaged" Twitter handles in the world. He is also the host of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” which regularly ranks among the top news shows on Apple podcast charts.
Douglas Mackey Sentenced to Federal Prison for Sharing a Meme Under Biden Administration
Douglas Mackey was arrested seven days after Biden's inauguration and sentenced to seven months in federal prison for sharing a satirical meme on Twitter. The government used a KKK-era statute to prosecute him for conspiracy, despite failing to find a single person who was tricked by the meme that suggested texting votes to Hillary Clinton. Mackey's case represents what many see as the beginning of law-fare targeting conservative voices online, with implications for free speech and First Amendment rights. His appeal challenges the application of federal conspiracy statutes to online satire and parody, raising questions about what political speech will be criminalized under current and future administrations.
Douglas Mackey was arrested seven days after Biden was inaugurated, marking the beginning of what would become a three-and-a-half-year legal battle. The charge against him stemmed from sharing a meme on Twitter—a meme he didn't even create but found circulating on the internet for months. The government acknowledged this fact during the trial.
The meme in question showed a message encouraging people to "text your vote to Hillary" with the tagline "avoid the line." The image was absurd on its face, yet the Department of Justice and the Eastern District Court took it seriously enough to prosecute. Mackey was charged under a Reconstruction-era KKK statute for conspiring to threaten, intimidate, injure, or oppress people in their exercise of their civil rights.
The Prosecution's Case
The government's case hinged on the claim that sharing a satirical meme with two or more people constituted a conspiracy to injure Americans in the exercise of their voting rights. The prosecution argued this was a violation of federal law designed to protect civil rights.
Despite the seriousness of the charges, the government failed to produce a single person who was actually tricked by the meme. According to discovery documents, FBI agents went door-to-door in the Eastern District asking people if they had seen the meme and if they had texted the number. Responses ranged from "no" to "I don't remember," and when asked if they thought it was a legitimate way to vote, everyone said "no, of course not, I'm not an idiot."
The prosecution also brought in people Mackey had never met in person but who had interacted with him on Twitter, labeling them as "co-conspirators." They dug through direct messages and used other memes as evidence, including the "Draft Our Daughters" meme that poked fun at Hillary Clinton's position on forcing women to register for the draft.
The Trial and Verdict
The trial took place in the Eastern District of New York, one of the deepest blue parts of the country. The jury deliberated for three and a half days and was deadlocked twice. In federal court, judges can issue what's called an Allen charge, where they tell the jury that significant resources and time have been invested and encourage them to try harder to reach a verdict.
After receiving this instruction, the jury appeared uncomfortable, looking as though they were the ones on trial. On Friday afternoon, right after lunch, they returned with a guilty verdict. Mackey noted that he couldn't blame them for wanting to get home to their families, but he found the entire process absurd given that the government couldn't find a single victim.
Sentencing and Bond
Douglas Mackey was sentenced to seven months in federal prison and received a federal felony conviction. The judge initially denied bond, but Mackey successfully appealed to the Second Circuit Court and won bond, leaving him in legal limbo while awaiting the outcome of his appeal.
The Double Standard
A striking example of prosecutorial discretion emerged when it was revealed that Christina Wong tweeted something remarkably similar in 2016. She wrote: "Hey Trump supporters, skip the lines on Election 2016. Text in your vote. Text votes are legit or vote tomorrow on super Wednesday."
Unlike Mackey, Wong was explicit in her messaging, while Mackey simply shared a meme. There has been no word from the Department of Justice about whether they subpoenaed her cell phone records, bank accounts, credit card accounts, or paychecks going back years, whether they interviewed her roommates, or whether they searched through her email accounts. The contrast in treatment raises serious questions about equal application of the law.
Implications for Free Speech
Mackey views his case as the canary in the coal mine for conservative speech online. What used to result in deplatforming or doxxing has evolved into federal prosecution. The government is now searching through federal code for old statutes they can dust off and apply to conservatives who make jokes or share memes online.
The concern extends beyond Mackey's case. There are efforts to criminalize deep fake AI videos that are clearly parody and satirical. Mackey believes that under a Kamala Harris administration, this type of prosecution would only accelerate, pointing to her history of prosecuting pro-life activists who taped Planned Parenthood representatives.
The Constitutional Appeals
Mackey's legal team is pursuing multiple grounds for appeal, all of which have broader implications for free speech and due process:
First Amendment Challenge: They're challenging the application of the KKK-era statute to what the government calls "disinformation" but what normal people would recognize as satire or parody. The argument is that this statute cannot be applied to simple memes published on the internet.
Fair Notice: The appeal argues that individuals must have a reasonable expectation that they're breaking the law when engaging in conduct. Who could reasonably think that sharing a meme online would lead to federal prosecution under a Reconstruction-era civil rights statute?
Venue: The case was brought in the Eastern District of New York despite having no real connection to that jurisdiction. The government's justification was that the tweet "went over the wire" and crossed the waters surrounding the Eastern District. This issue is constitutional because the British used to take Americans to London for star chamber trials away from their homes for sedition or conspiracy. The precedent that the Eastern District of New York could drag anyone into its courtroom from Wyoming, California, or anywhere else simply because a tweet traveled over a wire would be dangerous.
Moving Forward
Mackey is currently waiting for the Circuit Court to make its decision on his appeal. He emphasizes that this case isn't just about keeping him out of federal prison—it has implications for everyone who engages in political speech online.
The government's investigation was invasive and extensive. They subpoenaed all of Mackey's cell phone records, bank accounts, credit card accounts, and paychecks going back years. They interviewed his roommates and former roommates. They searched through his email accounts. All of this for sharing a joke on the internet, raising serious Fourth Amendment questions about privacy rights.
Personal Toll and Resilience
When asked how he's holding up, Mackey acknowledged that the trial was one of the most difficult experiences of his life. The three-and-a-half-year roller coaster has had its ups and downs, but he's relying on faith to get through. He believes God has a plan and that good can come out of anything.
Mackey expressed gratitude for his family standing behind him, his friends, and everyone praying for him and donating to his legal defense fund at memedefensefund.com. Despite everything, he remains standing and hasn't been knocked down yet.
The Warning
The message from Mackey's case is clear: if you've made a joke online, posted on Facebook, or shared a meme, the government could potentially knock on your door, arrest you, and raid your home or apartment. What was once considered protected political speech under the First Amendment is now being prosecuted as conspiracy under laws designed to combat the Ku Klux Klan.
The case represents a fundamental threat to free speech online and raises the question of whether Americans still have the right to engage in political satire and parody without fear of federal prosecution. As the appeal process continues, the outcome will have lasting implications for digital free speech and the boundaries of government power over online expression.
Comments
Be the first to comment on this video.