MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell lost a defamation case brought against him by a former employee of Dominion, a top voting machine company.
A federal jury in Colorado ordered Lindell to pay Eric Coomer, the former security and product strategy director at Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems, $2.3 million for two statements he made, one in which he accused Coomer of treason.
Lindell, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, alleged that the 2020 election was rigged and accused Dominion of working on behalf of Democrats.
Despite Lindell’s continued assertions during the trial that the election was stolen, he presented no expert witnesses or evidence to support those claims. His legal defense maintained that his statements were matters of public interest and protected under the First Amendment. They also contended that Coomer’s reputation had already suffered prior to Lindell’s comments, in part due to his own social media posts critical of Trump.
However, the jury sided with Coomer, concluding that Lindell’s comments, particularly referring to Coomer’s alleged actions as “treason,” went beyond protected speech and amounted to defamation.
Coomer said the conspiracy theories surrounding him upended his life and career. His legal team emphasized that the false allegations had a lasting impact, as Coomer still faces death threats.
The $2.3 million that Lindell was ordered to pay is far below the $62.7 million Coomer had requested, an effort to deter future attacks on election workers.
Lindell, who said he is $10 million in debt as a result of his legal battles due to rhetoric that the 2020 election was stolen, said he would appeal the jury’s decision.
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“I will not stop talking until we don’t have voting machines in this country,” Lindell said.
Meanwhile, the MyPillow CEO is still awaiting the results of a defamation lawsuit Dominion filed against him in 2021.