A Denver jury this week determined MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell defamed voting company executive Eric Coomer when Lindell falsely claimed Coomer rigged voting machines to steal the 2020 election from Donald Trump and called Coomer “treasonous” and a “traitor” on his TV show.
Coomer had sought $62.7 million in damages from Lindell, citing damage to his reputation and death threats that forced him to relocate to Europe. The jury awarded him only $2.3 million in damages because it concluded Lindell was not guilty of acting recklessly or inflicting emotional distress.
“Thankfully, the jury saw this for what it is,” said Coomer, an executive with Dominion Voting Systems, to the Colorado Springs Gazette. “Hopefully, Mike Lindell, listening to a jury of his peers, will finally start being honest with his followers.”
In this Aug. 30, 2018, photo, Eric Coomer from Dominion Voting demonstrates his company’s touch screen tablet that includes a paper audit trail at the second meeting of Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s Secure, Accessible & Fair Elections Commission in Grovetown, Ga. (Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File)
Yet Lindell, who had claimed Coomer conducted “the biggest crime the world has ever seen” and called the trial the “Trial of the Century,” declared victory in a post on X from LindellTV.
His post reads: “BREAKING: Mike Lindell Vindicated in Defamation Trial & MyPillow Pays $0.00 – FULLY EXONERATED. In a major free speech victory, Mike Lindell refused to settle and took the case to trial. The result: – No malice – No punitive damages – No conspiracy – MyPillow completely cleared of liability. While media corporations paid hundreds of millions to avoid trial, Lindell stood firm and won.”
The post continues: “This case wasn’t just about Lindell. It was about whether Americans still have the right to question what they believe needs scrutiny. The jury answered: yes. Free Speech Won. Intimidation Lawfare Lost.”
That social media post is largely untrue. It fails to mention the judgment was against Lindell and that Lindell was indeed found guilty and assessed a $2.3 million fine.
Other defendants have settled election-related defamation lawsuits: Fox News paid Dominion $787.5 million in 2023 and Newsmax paid $40 million to settle with Smartmatic in 2024. Lindell believed he could win over the eight-person jury and publicize his argument that all voting in the U.S. should be done with paper ballots.
But Lindell’s defense struggled. A new legal team was hired after Lindell’s previous attorneys left the case over unpaid bills. The new team announced during opening arguments that it would not introduce evidence to support Lindell’s claims of election fraud. Instead, they argued the case was really about what Lindell believed about Coomer, not the facts.
During his three days of testimony, Lindell declined to cite any evidence for his claims against Coomer.
During his three days of testimony last week, Lindell likewise declined to cite any evidence for his claims against Coomer. He instead claimed innocence (“I didn’t do anything to Mr. Coomer.”) and complained about the cost of his crusade to his business and finances (“I personally have nothing left in the world.”) Lindell says he has spent $40 million on election issues, only to see his MyPillow business decline.
Lindell’s lawyers were chastised for using AI to create legal documents containing erroneous citations. And Lindell was admonished in the trial’s opening days for repeatedly violating a judge’s orders by posting on social media from the courtroom and giving interviews outside the courthouse to Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast and to LindellTV.
Though Lindell’s is the first case to come to trial, Coomer also has sued:
- Salem Media and one of its radio hosts, Eric Metaxas
- Salem Media of Colorado and one of its hosts, Randy Corporon
- One American News Network (OAN) and on-air personality Chanel Rion
- Jim Hoft of The Gateway Pundit
- Clay Clark of the Thrive Time Show and the ReAwaken America Tour
- Colorado conspiracist and podcaster Joe Oltmann, who was the first to publicly accuse Coomer
- Donald Trump’s campaign and two lawyers who promoted his claims of a rigged election associates: Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell
Three defendants already have settled their cases with Coomer: Newsmax; OAN and Rion; and Sidney Powell.
During the Lindell trial, Salem Media released an apology to Coomer. A version of the apology also appears on the home page for Metaxas’ radio program. Experts say the apologies may be a prelude to Salem settling Coomer’s lawsuits.
Lindell’s legal defense fund on GiveSendGo.com seeks to raise $1.5 million. It has so far received $445,000, $80,000 of that in the last two weeks.
“Keep on fighting, Mike!” said one couple that donated $250. “We pray the Lord intervenes on your behalf and that TRUTH comes to light!”
As BNG reported earlier, Lindell faces a cascade of legal and financial challenges, including defamation suits from Dominion and Smartmatic.
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