FBI Informant To Testify Against Ricky Vaughn

The FBI informant has “pled guilty to the same charge currently facing Mackey.” He is also anonymous. Baked Alaska and Microchip were charged as “co-conspirators” in the same case.

Headline USA:

“According to prosecutors, the informant operated an anonymous right-wing Twitter account similar to Mackey’s Ricky Vaughn account in 2016. The two worked together to disseminate misinformation on Twitter, but they never knew each other’s real identities, prosecutors said.

The informant pled guilty to the same charge currently facing Mackey, and will testify against him at trial. Prosecutors sought to protect the informant’s identify because the informant is still working with the FBI in ongoing investigations, they said. …

“[The informant] has guarded his anonymity for years not because he is afraid for his safety or his ability to work with the FBI, but because it would harm his reputation,” Frisch argued.

“The [informant] is assisting the government in its case against Mr. Mackey, and the government is incentivized to make the [informant’s] life more pleasant. The [informant] pled guilty to a felony and, according to the government, was a leader in the controversial ‘alt right’ movement, and was engaged in spreading disinformation, and leading online harassment campaigns.”

Frisch further argued that it’s important to reveal the informant’s identity for numerous reasons, including to discern whether the informant harbors political bias.

“While the defendant and [the informant] never met, they were both political conservatives, and the [informant] is now at odds against him. If the [informant’s] political views have changed significantly, it is relevant to understand his community and biases. If it turns out his work for the FBI is targeting other right-wing adherents, the defense needs to know so for the purpose of cross-examination,” Frisch argued in a motion filed March 2. …”

Baked Alaska isn’t anonymous.

Therefore, the FBI informant is …