Possible 10 years in prison for internet post to trick the stupid about election

misleading people on when or how to vote is the line one can not cross

 

Even when it's posted by an individual person on a stupid site like Twitter or Facebook where any stupid person in the public could leave a post?

That seems like too much government control and intrusion to me.

I could maybe see an argument if it was a widely distributed newspaper or televised news show disseminating false information.

(If some fake physical location were set up to actually receive those votes, or fake paper ballots were created, then there would be no argument there, that should be illegal. I suppose that misinforming people about where and especially when the voting time is should be illegal, but I think that could still be a slippery slope. And even there I think it could be possible to make the argument that people should not rely on the news for reliable information. It could be made a crime only if the source claims it is an official government source of information, like if you get a paper letter in the mail saying the letter is from the government and telling you when the voting time will be)

 

I think so, but may be harder to prove intent without them creating the meme themselves and social media posts to back it up, but I would charge them

he can always appeal to the republican run SC if he thinks Republicans will see this differently

adding something to the post to say its satire would help them

 

I still say anyone who was tricked by this is too stupid to vote anyways and doesn't deserve to

 

many victims fall for stupid crimes, doesn't make it less a crime

 

It's actually not a crime it's free speech just like the sort of free speech you're supporting with the politicians who are supporting the terrorist group Hamas.

 

I would not recommend trying it right before the next election, as it is a crime to mislead people on when or how to vote in an election

 

Yes, you would like that, wouldn't you.
Permanently revoke his gun rights for an internet post. (that's what a "felony" does)
First and Second Amendments, hit two birds with one stone.

You know the more and more you post, the more I find myself agreeing with Fatback, that maybe any who might have been dumb enough to be "misled" by this shouldn't have had the right to vote.

 

no, it's you that would like that, I think everyone should get their rights back when they finish their sentence, all rights, including gun rights and voting rights

punishment comes during sentencing, punishing someone after the sentence is over is wrong

 

I don't think you know what a meme is. He created the post in order to intentionally fool some people into thinking they had voted, even though they had not, and it caused them to lose their voting rights.

What else do you need? He didn't deny inventing and posting it, and was found guilty of conspiracy.

So, when laws are enforced, you say the LE and the whole legal system is a left wing conspiracy , and when they are not enforced, its also left wing thingy. Whatever gets you through the night.

Would it ok, to mail a legal looking letters to thousands of people saying the polling place is closed or that the voting date is postponed?

When your words and actions hurt people, or cause them to lost their Constitutional rights, you have crossed a line, and might have to pay the price

 

This wasn't really simply just a law that was enforced. This was a highly questionable, and arguably stretched interpretation of a law.
One that some feel kind of gets into the territory of infringing on individual rights and violating a right in the Constitution.

I don't think conservatives would ever apply an interpretation like this to go after someone on the other side, if the shoe was on the other foot.

This seems to me more like biased legal weaponization ( "lawfare" ). And if that's the case, there is a danger this could escalate, start putting pressure on conservatives to respond in kind, and lead to a civil breakdown and dangerous legal environment for everyone.
I suspect many progressives on the Left never bothered to think that far. Or think it doesn't matter because they have the upper hand.

Then of course there are a few stupid and naive people out there who genuinely are under the impression that anything that could possibly be construed to be against the law is against the law, thinking it's a simple matter of just choosing not to break the law.

 

So...he was making memes and texted others about it.

This is only about friends/enemies

 

The problem is, there are a very large segment of the population who are anti free speech. But the real problem is that they are in the justice department, the government in general, academia, news media, every major institution in the country. That's why there is zero outrage from the media and civil rights organizations, the ones that used to actually care about the bill of rights.

 

That's why they win.

The made up new reasons for old laws is how Assange got indicted. It's crazy but we live in an age in which you can go to jail for something that was perfectly fine yesterday if a leftist had done it.

 

he was conspiring to trick people sounds like, trying to deny people the right to vote via misinformation

 

That's not what it sounds like at all. But I get it. Your enemies go to jail, so end of story.

 

Warhawk conservatives started the crusade against Assange, but I think warhawk Democrats took it over, blaming Assange for causing Hillary's electoral loss.
When Democrats came to power under Obama, many had expected they would do something to help Assange. They did not, and indeed Hillary sort of even expressed contempt against Assange (the famous quote "Can't we just drone this guy?"). So Assange had some more information released relating to scandals that would hurt Hillary. At that point most conservatives seemed to stop caring about Assange and a faction of warhawk Democrats wanted to "get him", to take out their vengeance. Part of their "cancel culture" mentality, do anything to take down their enemies. The irony being that Assange's strongest supporters seem to have always been Democrats, and don't seem to recognize that all the most virulent Assange-haters also came to be within their same political party. Trump though seems to have done nothing to interfere or help while he was president, and in fact Assange was arrested and officially charged for the first time during the Trump Administration (though Democrats did control Congress at that time).

In my opinion, this has very little do with "rule of law", and more to do with laws being used to go after people, where the law is used as a weapon and they try to make the law mean what they want it to mean.

And these government officials who are doing this seem to face no consequences.

This is the type of stuff that used to go on in other countries where freedom did not exist. And it seems the latest generation of society seems to lack morals and integrity, to even be able to see and admit that this is wrong. Of course government can do anything when the crowds go along with it.

 

exactly what it sounded like, but trying to steal an election is what some support, we get it

 

He's fine with that, as long as it's not his ox getting gored.

We seem to have entered the realm of thoughtcrimes now.

 

Oh I know. It's strictly the friends/enemies distinction all the way down.

 

Some good news.

Douglas Mackey’s Meme-Related Prison Sentence Halted By Federal Court

A federal court on Monday halted the prison sentence for Douglas Mackey, who was convicted earlier this year of election interference for posting memes that mocked Hillary Clinton voters to cast their ballot via text during the 2016 presidential election.

Mackey was accused of a “scheme to deprive individuals of their constitutional right to vote” after a Twitter account he ran under the handle “Ricky Vaughn” posted memes in the lead-up to the election. In October, Judge Ann M. Donnelly of Federal District Court in Brooklyn sentenced Mackey to 7 months in prison, a $15,000 fine, and two years probation.

However, Judge Omar Williams of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reportedly overruled the appellate court in granting a motion for bond pending appeal, according to Mackey.