MyPillow CEO Hit With $1.3 Billion Lawsuit Over Election Claims

MINNESOTA —Mike Lindell, the CEO of Chaska-based MyPillow.com, got hit with a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems on Monday after Lindell repeatedly pushed baseless claims that the company's voting systems were rigged against Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, according to multiple sources.

The 115-page compliant, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges Lindell's claims caused "unprecedented reputational and financial harm" to Dominion.

According to Forbes.com, Dominion also accuses Lindell of deceptive trade practices, suggesting he lied to derive "financial benefits from making those false statements." The lawsuit noted Lindell sponsored rallies that spread election fraud claims, offered customers discount codes relating to conspiracy theories and used the fraud campaign to sell copies of his book and help him gain Trump's support for his possible run for governor in Minnesota.

Lindell becomes the latest high-profile Trump ally to be the subject of a multibillion-dollar lawsuit over the spreading of conspiracy theories about election fraud, according to Axios. Pro-Trump lawyers Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani also have been sued for $1.3 billion apiece for their claims about Dominion. Additionally, Powell, Giuliani and Fox News were the subject of a $2.7 billion lawsuit by Smartmatic, another voting-technology producer, for similar claims about that company's products.

According to Forbes.com, Dominion had sent Lindell multiple letters warning about a possible defamation lawsuit if Lindell did not stop spreading conspiracy theories involving the company's products.

But Lindell continued the attacks, releasing a documentary pushing his election fraud claims. In January, Lindell told Axios: "I want Dominion to put up their lawsuit because we have 100-percent evidence that China and other countries used their machines to steal the election." However, the lawsuit noted Lindell and the documentary have "failed to make any real evidence available for public scrutiny."

Instead, the lawsuit claims Lindell's statements "have exposed Dominion to the most extreme hatred and contempt."

The lawsuit is the latest consequence of Lindell's pushing false information about the presidential election. In January, Patch reported Twitter suspended Lindell's account for "repeated violations" of Twitter's "civic integrity policy." Lindell also lost several significant business partners when companies like Bed Bath & Beyond, Kohl's, Wayfair and H-E-B said they would now longer sell MyPillow products.