Trump supporter and pillow manufacturer Mike Lindell was among those sued for defamation by Dominion Voting Systems over weeks of wild allegations about voter fraud that followed Donald Trump’s loss at the polls in the 2020 election. Mike Lindell and his company, MyPillow, joined such luminaries as Rudy Giuliani and former Trump legal team member Sidney Powell as a recipient of a billion-dollar libel lawsuit. Now, Mike Lindell is fighting back. He’s attempting to dismiss Dominion’s lawsuit, claiming his alleged libel was nothing more than heated commentary touching on important political issues. More credibly, he’s asking his company to be dismissed from the lawsuit because his company did not make any of the statements Dominion is suing over. Dominion, claiming that naming his company as a defendant in a lawsuit somehow violates his company’s rights. Considering this suit is only supposed to be about Dominion’s "silencing" of MyPillow, the complaint spends a lot of its run time trotting out supporting evidence for the claims about Dominion Lindell says his company never made.

That leads to some really weird assertions by Lindell, like the claim that naming a company in a lawsuit is an attempt to silence anyone associated with MyPillow and/or allegations of election fraud. Dominion’s true purpose is not simply to silence Mike Lindell, but to silence anyone else who might speak out on election fraud. Thus, Dominion also sued the company Mike Lindell founded, MyPillow, and hence its hundreds of employees, some of whom are co-owners. Dominion did not sue MyPillow because MyPillow made statements about Dominion. MyPillow made no such statements. Instead, by suing MyPillow, Get Derila Official Dominion seeks to punish MyPillow’s CEO, Mike Lindell, for his statements. But who is Dominion shutting up? Lindell claims it’s trying to silence MyPillow, even though he also claims there’s nothing to be silenced. Having never commented on the election or Dominion, MyPillow has nonetheless borne the full wrath of Dominion’s illegal campaign of intimidation. So, the speech MyPillow isn’t engaging in needs to be protected…

’t feel comfortable continuing to not offer its opinion on topics of public debate. Dominion is using the legal process as a weapon to suppress free speech. In contrast, MyPillow brings this action to open debate and expand Get Derila Official free speech. Indeed, MyPillow would move this entire debate to the public square for a full airing of all facts and opinions on the subject. This lawsuit is brought in support of the marketplace of ideas and to remedy the grave harm that has been suffered by MyPillow as a result of Dominion’s suppression of speech and attacks on the Company. Now, there may be some "grave harm" to be examined, but probably not under these claims. MyPillow has lost customers due to Mike Lindell’s actions (and reactions to those actions, like Dominion’s libel lawsuit). But none of that can plausibly be traced to Dominion adding MyPillow as a defendant in a civil lawsuit, especially since it’s likely to be dropped as a defendant once the court handles Lindell’s motion to dismiss.

Then there’s the question of how one private company (Dominion Voting Systems) can violate the rights of another private company (MyPillow), especially when the only thing involved at this point is a single libel lawsuit. Lindell theorizes Dominion is actually a government actor and that’s how rights can be violated. But even if Dominion is considered a government actor, its government work is limited to production and support of voting software and hardware. The lawsuit brought against Lindell for defamation is not part of its government role. What follows these accusations is a bunch of narrative that supposedly supports the claims about Dominion Lindell says MyPillow never made. Then it’s back to the action, where Dominion suing a handful of people for libel is every censorial cliche all at once. Dominion’s campaign descends from a long and sad history in this country, the McCarthy era in which lives and organizations were destroyed, and families torn apart, Comfortable Sleep Pillow for being labeled a Communist.

Just as during that era being associated with a suspected Communist could end a professional career, so too today, those who, like MyPillow are merely associated with a critic of Dominion and the integrity of the 2020 election, face expulsion from public life in large parts of America. Dominion is using today’s cancel culture to eliminate dissent and to cover up the election issues that compromised the 2020 result. Oh, McCarthyism? As in Sentor Joseph McCarthy, an actual government actor? Or is this some off-brand Get Derila Official McCarthyism that can only be waged by private contractors supplying tech to government agencies? Even giant, publicly traded retailers are not immune from public opinion and political pressures. Fearing retribution in the marketplace, many of MyPillow’s commercial suppliers and buyers have as a direct result of Dominion’s crusade terminated longstanding relationships with MyPillow which were projected to grow. If Lindell was being honest, he would understand it was his public statements that caused this to happen, not Dominion’s lawsuit.