MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell
The Supreme Court rejected an appeal from Mike Lindell, the MyPillow CEO and vocal election skeptic, who claimed his rights were violated when the FBI confiscated his phone in 2022.
Sensitive data
The federal investigation was focused on the potential sharing of sensitive data from Colorado’s electronic voting systems, with Lindell being a close associate of Donald Trump.
FBI
Lindell’s phone was taken by FBI agents while he was at a Hardee’s drive-thru in Minnesota, returning from a duck hunting excursion.
Lindell’s irritation
“Lindell’s irritation as to where and how the government took possession of his cell phone does not give rise to a constitutional claim, let alone a showing of a callous disregard for his constitutional rights,” Judge Ralph Erickson of the St. Louis-based 8th Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in decision last September.
Unauthorized
Lindell was interviewed by the FBI regarding Tina Peters, the Mesa County clerk in Colorado who faced charges in 2022 for allegedly allowing unauthorized access to passwords and files from a secure voting system, which were then shared online, potentially making the machines vulnerable to hacking.
Weaknesses
Peters contended that the files she made public from the machines she oversaw highlighted weaknesses in the systems.
Peters and Lindell
Peters and Lindell, who are both backers of former President Donald Trump, promoted unfounded claims questioning the legitimacy of the 2020 election.
Defamation lawsuit
Previously, the Supreme Court decided not to intervene in a defamation lawsuit brought by US Dominion, the manufacturer of voting machines, against Lindell. Dominion produces the same type of voting machines used in Mesa County.
Rejected
In the appeal rejected Monday, Lindell said the government was retaliating against “those who persist in questioning the integrity of computerized voting systems, particularly those used in the 2020 election.”