[A]n influential voice of the extreme-right on social media during the 2016 election has been identified as that of a Harwood Union High School graduate who grew up in Waterbury Center.
Huffington Post reported on Thursday that the person behind the white nationalist and virulently racist and anti-Semitic online persona “Ricky Vaughn,” is Douglass Mackey, who went on to graduate from Middlebury College and now lives in Manhattan.
“Ricky Vaughn” was a key figure in the extremist alt-right movement that found its voice in the 2016 election. His posts on alt-right platforms and Twitter have been a blend of pro-Trump boosterism, and far-right, racist and anti-Semitic rantings. His Twitter followers have included President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump, Jr.
Twitter suspended an account with the handle @Ricky_Vaughn99 in 2016. “Ricky Vaughn” returned to Twitter using a different account with the handle @RapinBill. That account was suspended Thursday afternoon, shortly after the Huffington Post story was published.
MIT Media Lab named “Ricky Vaughn” to its list of the 150 top “influencers” on the 2016 election.
“Ricky Vaughn” ranked 107th, ahead of the Democratic Party’s official Twitter account, popular personalities like Stephen Colbert and Bill Maher, and news sources including CBS and NBC.
Mackey’s identity was initially revealed on the social media platform Gab.ai by a white nationalist Wisconsin Republican congressional candidate, Paul Nehlen, amid a rivalrous split in the alt-right, according to news reports.
Huffington Post reporter Luke O’Brien said he confirmed Mackey’s identity by showing photographs of him to a filmmaker who had interviewed “Ricky Vaughn” and asking former colleagues of Mackey to verify whether they recognized the voice of “Ricky Vaughn” on podcasts.
Mackey graduated from Harwood Union High School in 2007. The name “Ricky Vaughn” comes from the character played by Charlie Sheen in the film “Major League.”
Attempts to reach Mackey were unsuccessful.
Mackey’s parents, Scott and Kathy, said in a statement Friday morning they were not aware of their son’s involvement with “Ricky Vaughn.” Scott Mackey is a lobbyist with Leonine Public Affairs in Montpelier.
“We were devastated to learn this week of Doug’s beliefs and on-line activities as reported in the Huffington Post. They are antithetical to the values we hold and with which he was raised,” they said in a statement. “We are still trying to understand how he could have done something like this and hope he will find some way to make amends for the harm he has caused.”
