Mackey, who was arrested in January 2021, faces up to 10 years in prison. His sentencing is set for August 16.
His attorney, Andrew Frisch, said in an email that the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan will have several reasons to choose from to overturn the conviction.
“We are optimistic about our chances on appeal,” Frisch said.
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement that the jury rejected Mackey’s cynical attempt to use First Amendment free speech protections to shield himself from criminal liability for a voter suppression program.
“Today’s verdict proves that the accused’s fraudulent actions crossed a line into criminality,” he said.
The government alleged that from September 2016 to November 2016, Mackey conspired with several other internet influencers to spread fraudulent messages to Clinton supporters.
Prosecutors told jurors at the trial that Mackey urged supporters of then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to ‘vote’ via text or social media, knowing those endorsements were not votes. legally valid.
Around the same time, prosecutors said, he was sending tweets suggesting it was important to limit “black attendance” to voting booths. A tweet he sent showed a photo of a black woman with a Clinton campaign sign, encouraging people to ‘avoid the line’ and ‘vote from home’, according to court documents.
Using social media presentations, an image encouraging fake votes used a font similar to that used by the Clinton campaign in genuine ads, prosecutors said. Others tried to emulate Clinton’s ads in other ways, they added.
On Election Day in 2016, at least 4,900 unique phone numbers texted “Hillary” or something similar to a text number that was spread by several misleading campaign images tweeted by Mackey and his co-conspirators , prosecutors said.
Twitter said it has worked closely with relevant authorities on the matter.
Politico