The Vaughn Trial

Douglass Mackey faced a solitary charge that centers around his use of Twitter to allegedly deprive someone from exercising their constitutional right to vote. Tucker Carlson recently spotlighted the insanity of the political prosecution. It has had little coverage like run of the mill federal cases, but some legal experts have weighed in on the tricky application of a Reconstruction era law for tweeting. It is the meme trial. He has been found guilty of the one charge after deliberations that lasted nearly as long as the trial.

Does anyone know anything about this trial? The Epoch Times had a reporter file a report on the opening statements and then nothing else. Some SPLC affiliated reporters have covered it from inside the courtroom, but their angle is on extremism. They do not cite testimony or specifics of the case. If Jack Posobiec is to be believed, one such reporter was scolded by the judge during “Microchip’s” testimony. It is a shame as we still do not know specifics about how this odd case came to trial. The best rundown of the week long trial is here.

How did EDNY claim venue jurisdiction? This was part of the motion to dismiss. No victim could be found. The defendant was in the SDNY district. That tweets are data that travel over cables and possibly pass through a territory (maybe WiFi data waves?) seems to be the only explanation because the defendant was in another jurisdiction. Did it happen because Clinton campaign HQ was in EDNY? That cannot work since the supposed crime is a conspiracy denying others of their right to vote. Why did SDNY not prosecute? It might be that SDNY passed on this or might not have considered it at all. Learning that could help us understand the government’s motive for pursuing the case (outside of who/whom).

We know that the user Microchip was the star witness. Prosecutors asked for his identity to be sealed, arguing successfully, despite the highly unusual reasons. The rationale was cooperation with ongoing investigations and fear of stochastic terror threats to his life. Was his testimony worthwhile? The Feds needed one for a conspiracy but the linked trial summary above states he changed his story over the course of 20 interviews with the FBI. A sealed cooperating witness is unusual. So was private ‘nudging’ of a defense witness that skirts the line of intimidation. We do not know the full story with that, but the defense had a witness until a reporter contacted him about old private emails. Every trick was used here for this trial.

The system is set up to attack any threat. Mackey’s work as an online troll was a threat. He feels the full force of that system now. He has for two years. His case also shows the weaknesses on the Right. There was no automatic defense fund for him. He had to scour for a lawyer as there is no rightwing legal club to spring to the defense of a partisan in a political prosecution. Some lawyers are rightwing, and they will need to overcome reluctance to touch portions of their coalition to prevent kangaroo courts. The Left, up and down the chain, are defending a transgender shooter who killed children. They bail out felons all of the time. It’s not a fight if only one side participates. It’s a beatdown.

If one is to believe he was as influential online as the experts say, defending Mackey is a no brainer for the Right. While just one figure, he represented the presence of a young tech savvy rightwing. The Left never knew it existed, even Gamergate did not prepare them for the ’16 cycle. Mackey represented a high engagement user base that despite the ‘capitalism drives choices’ meme, social media banned and limited against their economic interests. This crowd can be a strong force and should not be left out in the cold.

Even then, if the crime was conspiracy, what is the difference between his memes and privately produced polls released before the election that show (just one example) Biden with a 17-point lead in Wisconsin? Could we subpoena all the communications between those who pay for it, those who run it and those who publish it? Of course not, who/whom. Their defense can be golly gee we were wrong. That’s a legal conspiracy to depress voter turnout. If it comes down to the text to vote meme, how is it separated from the other nonsense tweet memes that said tweet to vote, vote Wednesday, etc.? It is up to all voters to evaluate information and make a decision (albeit one that can be swamped by 3AM vote dumps). The entire 2020 election story was full of falsehoods, from Covid to George Floyd riots to Hunter Biden’s laptop. Where do we draw the line? You know where, who/whom.

Who/whom will be used to apply the precedent set by this. This is about protecting the narratives in the info war that is never-ending. All misinfo that deprives one of exercising constitutional rights is at risk, but as we have learned the last few years, misinfo just means counter-narrative. So much that was deemed misinfo was proven true six, twelve or eighteen months later. If investigators can build a case quickly, they can arrest, indict, and prosecute people for prison sentences in time for the misinfo to be proven true. Where does it all go? Wherever the Left says it goes.

Outside of his legal team, Doug Mackey has faced this alone. He did not take a deal. He has fought this through to the end. He serves as an example of standing strong. He should not have had to, and if the Right ever wants to really fight, it has to admit the existential nature of the fight. Now in his thirties, Mackey was a mid-twenties young man doing his work in ‘16. For all the trad talk about family, it took the work of a bachelor to fight the meme war and elect Trump. Bachelors can take more risks. He was a young patriot who put on a mask at a critical moment. Mackey now faces a future of more legal bills as he appeals, and potential jail time. He will never be forgotten. First, he was the account that garnered the most attention because he was the best. Now, for the very same reason, he becomes a meme martyr.

-By Concerned Observer