Who is Mike Lindell? MyPillow CEO ordered to pay $2.3 million for defaming ex-Dominion employee; conspiracy theories land him in court

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a vocal election conspiracy theorist, has been found guilty of defaming a former employee of Dominion Voting Systems. The case stems from statements he made following the 2020 US presidential election.A federal jury in Colorado on Monday ordered Lindell and his online media platform, formerly called Frankspeech, to pay $2.3 million in damages to Eric Coomer, the ex-director of product strategy and security at Dominion. The panel found that two specific statements made by Lindell, including referring to Coomer as a “traitor,” were defamatory.Coomer’s lawyers had sought $62.7 million in damages to send a broader message against attacks on election workers.

'This is hurting democracy'

During the two-week trial, Coomer described how his life and career were shattered by conspiracy theories linking him to election fraud. His legal team argued Lindell had either knowingly spread lies or had acted with reckless disregard for the truth.“This is hurting democracy. This is misinformation. It’s not been vetted and it needs to stop,” Coomer’s attorney Charles Cain told jurors during closing arguments.

While the damages awarded fell short of expectations, Cain insisted that the verdict sends an important message. “People who work behind the scenes of elections should not be attacked,” he said. Yet he admitted Coomer is “still going to be looking over his shoulder.”

Lindell refuses to back down

Lindell said he would appeal the verdict, maintaining that Coomer had not proven any real harm. He also declared his intention to continue campaigning against electronic voting machines.“I will not stop talking until we don’t have voting machines in this country,” Lindell said after the verdict.Throughout the trial, Lindell stuck to his unproven claim that the 2020 election was stolen, though he did not call any expert witnesses or provide evidence in court. He also defended his remarks about Coomer, saying he calls “many people traitors.”

Frankspeech cleared on most other claims

The jury determined that Lindell and Frankspeech were liable for two of the 10 statements in question.

They found the remaining eight comments made either by Lindell or others on Frankspeech were not defamatory.Lindell’s legal team argued that Frankspeech was not responsible for statements made by guests and insisted the CEO’s remarks were protected under the First Amendment as comments on matters of public interest.However, Coomer’s lawyers stressed that accusing someone of treason was a criminal charge, not protected opinion.

The jury sided with Coomer on that point.

Impact of conspiracy theories

Coomer was not widely known until he was thrust into the spotlight by right-wing media and supporters of US President Donald Trump after the 2020 election. He said the allegations destroyed his livelihood and subjected him to violent threats.He singled out Lindell’s statements as especially harmful, including one from May 9, 2021, where Lindell accused him of “treason.” Although Lindell only mentioned Coomer months after others had done so, the former Dominion employee said the MyPillow founder’s high-profile platform intensified the harassment.Coomer also acknowledged that his own Facebook posts criticising Trump were “hyperbolic” and a mistake, but maintained they did not justify being falsely labelled a traitor.

Background of false claims

Dominion Voting Systems, based in Denver, has been a frequent target of election fraud conspiracy theories. The company previously reached a $787 million settlement in a separate defamation case against Fox News. It also has a pending lawsuit against Newsmax, which apologised to Coomer in 2021 for promoting false allegations.Lindell said his belief in widespread voter fraud was partly based on the 2020 HBO documentary Kill Chain and the views of Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser. Lindell also distanced himself from a claim made by a Colorado podcaster who said a man named Eric on an Antifa call vowed Trump would not win the election.He insisted he had never accused Coomer of rigging the election, though he admitted frustration with Newsmax for allegedly blocking him from appearing after it apologised to Coomer.

Coomer denied any such deal existed.Lindell testified that before he began speaking out about the election, he was worth $60 million. He now says he is $10 million in debt.Multiple audits, recounts and investigations in contested states have confirmed President Joe Biden’s victory in 2020. Trump and his legal team lost dozens of court cases challenging the outcome, and even Trump’s then attorney general stated there was no evidence of widespread fraud.