The petition filed by Mike Lindell, the founder of MyPillow and a proponent of electoral falsehoods, seeking the U.S. Supreme Court‘s review of the legality of the FBI’s seizure of his mobile device at a restaurant drive-thru, has been rebuffed.
The apex court, sans commentary on Monday, declined to revisit three prior rulings from lower courts unfavorable to Lindell, who has been vocal in propagating unsubstantiated assertions regarding the manipulation of voting apparatus to sway the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in favor of Donald Trump.
FBI operatives confiscated Lindell’s mobile device at a Hardee’s eatery in Mankato, located in southern Minnesota, in 2022, as part of a probe into purported efforts to breach voting system technology in Mesa County, Colorado.
Lindell contended that the confiscation contravened his constitutional protections against unwarranted searches and seizures, portraying it as a bid by the authorities to stifle his freedom of expression.
The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals was unconvinced.
“Despite occasional assertions to the contrary, Lindell’s intentions in pursuing this litigation are transparent – it serves as a maneuver to, at the very least, impede and, at most, halt a criminal inquiry, thereby obstructing any prospective federal prosecution,” elucidated a triad of judges on an appeals panel in September of last year.
Upon appeal to the Supreme Court in February, Lindell’s legal team underscored that he had yet to retrieve his mobile device.
The Supreme Court’s ruling on Monday adds to a string of legal and financial setbacks for Lindell, who faces defamation lawsuits from two manufacturers of voting machines. Initially retained to defend him in those suits, attorneys terminated their representation due to outstanding fees.
The fiscal strain intensified last year for MyPillow following the cessation of advertising ties with Fox News and the severance of relationships with multiple national retailers.
In February, a judge upheld a $5 million arbitration award in favor of a software engineer who contested Lindell’s assertions regarding Chinese interference in the 2020 election.
