2020 election denier and MyPillow founder Mike Lindell must pay $2.3 million in damages for defaming a former employee of Dominion Voting Systems.
The finding Monday by a federal jury in Colorado was the result of a lawsuit from Eric Coomer, whom Lindell called a “traitor.” Lindell’s online media platform, formerly known as FrankSpeech, also broadcast claims about Coomer that his lawyers argued were defamatory.
Coomer had sought $62.7 million, but the jury arrived at the considerably lower number because it wasn’t sold on Lindell’s responsibility for others’ comments.
Still, Coomer’s attorney said afterward that his client was “thrilled” with the verdict.
“Generally, what this verdict says is… individuals who are singled out can get vindication in the courthouse,” Charles Caine said, Colorado Public Radio reported. “And hopefully this serves as a deterrence for individuals working on our elections from being targeted.”
Lindell, meanwhile, spun the result as a positive.
“This is a huge victory for our country,” he said from the courthouse steps in a livestream on LindellTV. “The big win is, you cannot attack USA companies and expect it’s going to work.”
Lindell, who said he plans on appealing the judgment, claims to be several million dollars in debt. And Monday wasn’t the first instance where a court has ordered him to pay up for his election nonsense.
Last February, a federal judge upheld an arbitration panel’s determination that he had to hand over $5 million to a man who successfully completed the “Prove Mike Wrong” challenge by proving the 2020 election wasn’t stolen from Donald Trump.
The month prior, Lindell announced that two law firms defending him in his lawsuits with Dominion and voting software company Smartmatic had quit because he couldn’t pay them.
Lindell claimed earlier this month that his money woes were in part due to right-wing cable network Newsmax’s 2021 settlement with Coomer, who had filed a defamation suit against it as well.
The settlement “has cost MyPillow in sales over $20 million because Newsmax will never have me on to talk about MyPillow products anymore!” Lindell told Rolling Stone.
Dominion, which obtained $787.5 million from Fox News in a 2023 settlement, is also suing Newsmax.
Newsmax agreed to settle with Smartmatic in March for $40 million. Smartmatic’s lawsuit against Fox News is ongoing.
The post Mike Lindell Must Fork Over $2.3 Million to Ex-Dominion Worker He Defamed appeared first on The Daily Beast.
