Mike Lindell Ordered to Pay $2.3M to Ex-Dominion Exec Eric Coomer for Defamation
A Colorado jury has ordered MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell to pay $2.3 million in damages to Eric Coomer, a former Dominion Voting Systems executive, concluding that Lindell defamed Coomer by spreading election conspiracy theories that derailed his personal and professional life.
The verdict is the latest legal setback for Lindell, who has positioned himself as one of the most vocal proponents of disproven claims about the 2020 election. Coomer’s legal team had sought $62.7 million in damages, citing death threats, loss of income, and irreparable harm to Coomer’s reputation.
A Lie That Went Viral
The case stems from a conspiracy theory pushed by Colorado right-wing podcaster Joe Oltmann, who claimed to have been on an “antifa” call before the 2020 election where someone he identified as “Eric from Dominion” allegedly said he would ensure Trump would not win. No evidence of the call has ever been produced.
Nonetheless, the claim gained traction in right-wing media and political circles, prompting a tidal wave of online harassment against Coomer. He quickly became the face of fabricated election interference narratives. The backlash forced Coomer into hiding and subjected him to constant death threats and online abuse.
Lindell’s Role and Defense
Coomer filed the lawsuit against Lindell in April 2022, accusing him of amplifying and embellishing the conspiracy in public statements, including calling Coomer a traitor and accusing him of treason. Lindell denied knowingly making false statements and instead claimed he was retaliating against Coomer because of alleged business damage — namely, his exclusion from Newsmax programming, which Lindell blamed on Coomer’s earlier lawsuit against the network.
In court, Lindell lashed out, accusing Coomer’s lawyers of participating in “the biggest coverup of the biggest crime the world has ever seen.” He maintained his defiance throughout the trial, framing the legal proceedings as “lawfare” and claiming he was on a divine mission to expose what he continues to insist was election fraud.
Financial and Legal Freefall
The verdict adds to a growing list of legal and financial problems for Lindell. He’s already facing multi-billion-dollar defamation suits from Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic. His legal team has attempted to withdraw from some of these cases due to unpaid legal fees, with Lindell admitting in court that he is at least $10 million in debt.
He was even served a new lawsuit for $9 million in unpaid shipping fees by FedEx — right outside the Denver courthouse during the Coomer trial. Despite these issues, a crowdfunding effort on Lindell’s website has raised over $400,000 for his legal defense, with Lindell insisting he will “never settle.”
Damage Done
Coomer told the court that the defamation destroyed his life. He described losing his job, living under threat, and suffering emotional and reputational trauma. An expert witness for his team estimated it would cost $2.8 million to repair his public image.
“Ultimately it’s to try to regain some semblance of my life,” Coomer testified. “I didn’t just lose my livelihood, I lost my life as a direct result of statements by Mr. Lindell accusing me of being a traitor.”
Coomer previously settled similar defamation claims with conservative networks including Newsmax, and he continues to pursue legal action against Joe Oltmann.
A Broader Legal Trend
The case is part of a broader post-2020 trend where defamation law is increasingly used to hold individuals and organizations accountable for spreading election disinformation. Similar lawsuits have resulted in massive judgments — most notably against Rudy Giuliani, who was recently ordered to pay millions in damages to Georgia election workers.
Legal experts see these rulings as an important counterbalance to unchecked misinformation in the digital age, particularly when that misinformation endangers lives and careers.
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