Mike Lindell, widely recognized as the “MyPillow guy,” has encountered a series of legal and financial challenges in recent years. In a recent decision, a federal appeals court handed down such a ruling. Thursday’s ruling has spared him from making a costly $5 million arbitration award to a technical whistle-blowing software engineer. Among all of Lindell’s current messes, he’s faced renewed scrutiny—most notably for his widespread, false claims about election interference.
Retzalus said Lindell has repeatedly peddled the false conspiracy theory that China rigged the 2020 presidential election. He further claims that Smartmatic purposefully rigged the election outcome. A judge has already ruled that Lindell defamed Smartmatic with 51 false statements regarding Smartmatic’s alleged role in rigging the election results. In particular, he aimed his criticisms at the outcomes in Los Angeles County, where Joe Biden performed well, winning 71% of the vote against Donald Trump.
The defamatory statements were amplified publicly through the documentary films Lindell created and the numerous media interviews he conducted. These outlandish claims created a smoke screen that cast doubt over the legitimacy of the election. Smartmatic, in turn, has filed suit.
Smartmatic’s attorney, Erik Connolly, expressed the company’s intent to seek substantial damages from Lindell and MyPillow, stating they will pursue “nine-figure damages.” This costly, ongoing legal fight was set in motion by Lindell’s unsubstantiated assertions that Smartmatic’s voting technology played a role in systemic election fraud.
“Smartmatic did not and could not have rigged the 2020 election.” – Erik Connolly
Lindell was taken aback by the judge’s ruling. He conceded that he hadn’t read through the ruling, but nevertheless referred to it as “the most bizarre thing I’ve ever heard.” His comments remain symptomatic of his intransigence to push his long-debunked theories about election irregularities.
Federal District Judge Jeffrey Bryan had delayed the jury’s determination of whether Lindell had published the statements with “actual malice.” The stakes of Lindell’s persistent lies are enormous. Lindell has faced a legal reckoning for making same claims about Dominion Voting Systems. In June, he lost one such battle when a jury found him guilty of defaming a former employee of the company.
These expensive, ongoing legal battles serve to underscore Lindell’s unyielding resolve to challenge the results of the 2020 election. He has vowed to persist in his fight against Smartmatic until their voting machines are “melted down and turned into prison bars.”
As Lindell navigates this tumultuous landscape of legal challenges, he remains a polarizing figure, embodying the intersection of business, politics, and misinformation. Though his claims have been thoroughly debunked, they do raise important discussions about the dangers of continuing to promote false accusations, especially during an election and democratic process.