Mike Lindell, the chief executive of MyPillow and a staunch supporter of US President Donald Trump, has lost a defamation case brought by Eric Coomer, a former security and product strategy director at Dominion Voting Systems.
A jury in Denver, Colorado, on Monday ordered Lindell to pay $2.3m in damages to Coomer.
The case stemmed from Lindell’s false accusations that Coomer had helped to rig the 2020 election, which saw Joe Biden defeat Donald Trump. During the two-week trial, Lindell continued to promote baseless claims that the election had been stolen from Trump.
Dominion Voting Systems has also filed similar defamation cases against several of Trump’s allies, accusing them of spreading false information about the company’s voting machines.
Coomer, who filed federal lawsuits in 2022 against Lindell and two of his companies—MyPillow, Inc and Lindell TV—argued that the lies had irreparably damaged his reputation.
The lawsuit described how Coomer was subjected to frequent death threats and was unfairly labelled as part of an imagined conspiracy, tarnishing his name in the public eye.
Following the verdict, Lindell, taking to his social media, praised the jury for not finding his other company, Lindell TV, liable for defamation.
He described the decision as “a huge victory for our country” and a blow to those who “attack USA companies.” He also vowed to appeal the ruling, claiming he was now in financial debt.
Lindell’s outspoken promotion of election conspiracies has led to widespread consequences.
In 2021, major US retailers stopped selling his MyPillow products, and the MyPillow CEO has continued to use his legal battles as a marketing strategy.
His company’s website currently features a “JURY” promo code offering customers a “free Multi-Use MyPillow 2.0,” alongside a link to donate to his “legal defense fund.”
This case is the latest in a series of high-profile legal battles linked to the 2020 election. Dominion Voting Systems previously sued Fox News for $1.6bn for spreading misinformation about the election, with the network ultimately settling for $787.5m.
