- The voting company Smartmatic filed a defamation lawsuit Tuesday against MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.
- "Mike Lindell knows exactly what he is doing, and it is dangerous," Smartmatic said.
- Smartmatic argues Lindell is pushing conspiracy theories to sell more pillows.
The voting-machine company Smartmatic filed a lawsuit Tuesday against MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, alleging that he spread conspiracy theories about the 2020 election to sell pillows.
"Crazy like a fox. Mike Lindell knows exactly what he is doing, and it is dangerous," Smartmatic said in its lawsuit, which includes MyPillow as one of the defendants.
Smartmatic's lawsuit alleges defamation and deceptive trade practices. The company is asking for an unspecified amount of monetary compensation and for Lindell to retract claims he made about Smartmatic and other voting-machine companies in connection to the 2020 US election.
"He knows voting machines did not switch votes from former President Trump to now-President Biden," the Smartmatic lawsuit says. "These facts do not matter to Mr. Lindell because he knows he can sell. He knows he can sell a preconceived story about voting machines stealing democracy by stealing votes from a president who is incredibly popular with millions of Americans. And, of course, Mr. Lindell — 'the MyPillow Guy' — knows he needs to sell pillows to keep and increase his fortune."
In its filing, the company further alleged that Lindell was taking advantage of a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to make money by pushing baseless voter-fraud claims.
"Mr. Lindell intentionally stoked the fires of xenophobia and party-divide for the noble purpose of selling his pillows," Smartmatic's complaint said, adding that MyPillow branding was placed "conveniently" and "strategically" during Lindell's media appearances.
"Mr. Lindell's message was as dangerous as it was factually inaccurate," Smartmatic's lawsuit said.
When reached for comment Tuesday night, Lindell told Insider he was "excited" about the Smartmatic lawsuit because it would allow him to present evidence that he says he has on the company.
"They're guilty. They've attacked us and were part of the biggest crime in history against our country. And they're going to all go to prison," Lindell told Insider when asked for comment about Smartmatic's lawsuit against him. "The reason I'm going after Smartmatic and Dominion is because they helped commit one of the biggest crimes against the American people, and my grandchildren deserve a future in this country."
He continued: "It's kind of hilarious when I've lost over $80 million from the box stores, retailers, and shopping channels dropping me. And I poured over $30 million into this election crimes that these guys committed and Smartmatic helped commit. Also, I was selling pillows long before the election."
Lindell previously told Insider he had spent more than $25 million on voter-fraud claims, adding that the breakdown included $10 million that he said he spent building Frank Speech, a platform from which he broadcasts nightly.
This lawsuit is the latest in a string of legal troubles for the pillow CEO. He is also facing a lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems. The company filed a defamation suit against Lindell for $1.3 billion. MyPillow is countersuing Dominion for $1.6 billion.
