Mike Lindell's pillow handouts during July Fourth parade violated campaign laws, complaint alleges
Mike Lindell, MyPillow CEO and Republican gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota, is accused of violating campaign laws by giving away pillows promoting his candidacy at a July Fourth parade.
A complaint filed on July 22 alleges Lindell and others from his campaign "threw pillows to spectators" during a parade in Delano, Minnesota. According to the complaint, the packaging of the pillows said "Mike Lindell for Governor" and their value is about $35.
The complaint said this violates the state's Fair Campaign Practices law, which "prohibits giving something of monetary value, or promising something of value, to a person in order to induce or deter voting in a particular way in an election."
Lindell told WCCO the allegations in the complaint are wrong, and that the value of the pillows was actually $4.90, less than the $5 carve-out for allowable campaign giveaways. He said his team checked on the rules and "dotted their Is and crossed their Ts."
"It was a set-up hit job, and I feel very confident that there was no violations," Lindell said. "We did all our due diligence. The lawyer, there were so many pieces here. We talked to the campaign finance board."
An Instagram post from Lindell on June 19 showed the pillows being given away at a parade in Foley, Minnesota.
Shawn Towle, a political writer, testified as a witness against Lindell. He says he saw Lindell getting ready to throw pillows.
"So I approached him, and I said, 'Do you know you're in violation of the Twinkie law?' And he says, 'We've got all the I's dotted and the T's crossed, and our lawyers, you know, they have a handle on it.'" Towle said.
Lindell says those filing the complaint got his simple, naked pillow confused with his premium covered and decorative pillow, which he sells for more than $34.
"These are called roll and go pillows and there's different versions, but these are these expensive cases that they roll into their own case," he said.
The judge is taking the pillow case under advisement and says he will issue a ruling in the next few days.
Lindell was already the leading Republican candidate, according to a Survey USA/KSTP poll, when he earned an endorsement from President Trump last month. Kendall Qualls, who earned the state party's endorsement, and Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth are also vying for the Republican nomination.
Early voting is underway for the Aug. 11 primary. Whoever wins the GOP nomination is likely to face Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the presumptive favorite for the Democratic candidacy, in the November election.
