Mike Lindell sues U.S., Att'y General and FBI head over cell phone seizure
CHASKA, Minn. – MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has filed a lawsuit after FBI agents seized his cell phone while he was sitting at the drive-thru window of a Hardee's in Mankato.
The suit, filed Tuesday names FBI director Christopher Wray as defendant, alongside U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and the United States of America.
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."
It also claims that authorities were tracking Lindell using location services in violation of Lindell's Fourth Amendment rights in the stop and seizure, as well as his Fifth Amendment rights to due process, as well as the Sixth Amendment.
Lindell said that he uses that cell phone to conduct business, and the suit also claims that the phone is programmed to operate Lindell's hearing aids.
The suit seeks affirmation that Lindell's rights were violated, as well as the return of his cell phone, any data the FBI may have accessed, and a temporary restraining order against the suit's defendants.
Case Background
Lindell, a supporter of Donald Trump who has espoused the former president's false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, 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 a Hardee's drive-thru in Mankato.
"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 it will not 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.