Judge denies Mike Lindell's request for temporary restraining order against FBI
CHASKA, Minn. – A motion from MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell to file a temporary restraining order against the FBI and other governmental agencies has been denied by a judge in U.S. District Court.
Earlier in the week, Lindell filed a suit against FBI director Christopher Wray as a defendant along with Attorney General Merrick Garland and the United States of America, in response to Lindell's cell phone being taken by agents while he was sitting at a Hardee's drive-thru in Mankato.
The suit alleges that the federal agents "had no authority to detain and question Mr. Lindell against his will," and that Lindell's First Amendment rights were violated because of "his efforts to inform the public about alleged fraud and alleged irregularities he believes occurred in order to bring an end to the dependence on computerized voting and tabulating machines in elections." Lindell, an ardent supporter of Donald Trump, has espoused the former president's false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
The suit also claimed Lindell's Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights were also violated.
Alongside the lawsuit, Lindell and his legal team filed a motion for a temporary restraining order against the FBI, the Attorney General's Office, and the federal government. On Thursday, Judge Eric C. Tostrud denied that motion.
"Though Plaintiffs cite Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 41(g) as the basis for their motion, Plaintiffs do not discuss the Rule or cite any authority that might explain why the cellphone's return is appropriate under the Rule," Tostrud wrote. "Whether Rule 41(g) requires the cellphone's return is not obvious, and that's understating things."
Case Background
Lindell said he was served a federal subpoena last week and that his phone was seized by federal agents. According to Lindell, at least four FBI agents approached him after he ordered food at the Hardee's.
"I said, 'Does this have anything to do with January 6th?'" Lindell said, referring to investigations led by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C. into the origins of the Capitol riot. "They said 'no.'"
Lindell said Wednesday that the FBI agents also asked him about various flights he's taken. Lindell said he told them he travels the country meeting with elected officials.
"The attorney generals I met with are mostly Republican ones when I'm trying to get evidence before Supreme Court," Lindell told WCCO.
Lindell described his interaction with the agents as "very civil," but he was emphatic that the seizure won't deter him from continuing to push his agenda.
"Where do I go from here? The same thing I do every day for the last year and a half: 18 hours a day I spend trying to get rid of these electronic voting machines," he said.
Dominion and Smartmatic, two companies that produce electronic voting machines, are suing Lindell for defamation; his own countersuits against them have been dismissed, as have dozens of other claims of alleged election fraud across the country.