By Carol McKinley | Denver Gazette
Mike Lindell said he takes no responsibility for the election-stealing accusations he leveled against a former Dominion Voting Systems employee
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell said he is on a crusade to get rid of electronic voting machines in favor of hand-counted paper ballots and he’s hoping his defamation trial will provide a “gateway” to keeping the conversation alive.
Lindell took the stand on Monday to defend himself in the federal defamation trial against him. The proceeding is starting its second, and likely final, week.
A former employee of Dominion Voting Systems filed the defamation lawsuit in U.S. District Court, saying he was unfairly accused of rigging the 2020 election for Joe Biden.
Right out of the gate, the plaintiff’s attorney Charles Cain asked Lindell if he takes responsibility for defaming former Dominion Voting Systems employee Eric Coomer.
“I didn’t do anything to Mr. Coomer,” Lindell said.
“You take no responsibility for what you’ve done?”
“No.”
Coomer, a Colorado resident, alleged that he went into hiding in fear after receiving death threats in part because Lindell targeted him for being involved with “rigging” the 2020 elections. He testified last week that the 4.5-year saga destroyed his 15-year career as a high-level election systems designer, including 10 with Dominion Voting Systems, one of the largest in the country.
On the other hand, Lindell also claimed to have been ruined by Coomer’s lawsuits against him.
Lindell, his company My Pillow Inc., and his former television company, FrankSpeech LLC, are being sued for allegedly defaming Coomer, causing him “intentional infliction of emotional distress” and for civil conspiracy, according to the complaint.
As of April 2025, FrankSpeech had rebranded as Lindell TV.
Lindell testified that he controlled FrankSpeech, just as he does MyPillow.
Frequently, Lindell asked to expand on one-word answers, but Cain told him that he would get that opportunity during cross-examination.
“For now, question and answer, OK?” Cain said.
Coomer, the plaintiff, listened intently to Lindell’s testimony, often casting glances over his shoulder at the jurors and consulting his team of attorneys.
During the two-week trial Lindell is being challenged on 10 allegedly defamatory statements he made against Coomer. In one broadcast, he called on Coomer to be “jailed for treason” for his role in “rigging the elections.”
As a commentator during several broadcasts on Newsmax and on his own network, Lindell accused Coomer of being evil, a criminal and “a traitor to the United States of America.”