Yesterday, a federal district court judge dismissed MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell's counterclaims against election machine manufacturers U.S. Dominion and Smartmatic. The counterclaims were filed in the companies' defamation suit against Lindell, who had accused the firms of stealing the 2020 election with rigged election machines. In addition, Judge Nichols imposed sanctions on Lindell, given the "groundless" and "frivolous" nature of his claims. Last fall, Judge Nichols had also denied Lindell's attempt to dismiss the defamation claims.
After he was sued for defamation, Lindell filed a series of counterclaims against Dominion and Smartmatic, including abuse of process, RICO, and violations of the First Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause, and the "Support or Advocacy Clause of 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3), among others. In his opinion , Judge Nichols walks through each claim, explaining why each lacks merit, before dismissing them.
Judge Nichols also explained his reasons for granting Smartmatic's motion for sanctions, in part.
