A court is set to order MyPillow’s eviction from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse where it previously operated, but firm founder and prominent election skeptic Mike Lindell claimed Wednesday that it is really a formality because the landlord wants to reclaim the property.
Lindell denied in an interview with The Associated Press that the eviction was another indicator of his financial problems. He claims his financial situation is improving after a credit crunch last year interrupted cash flow at MyPillow, which lost one of its major advertising platforms and was dumped by several national retailers.
“We’re fine,” he replied.
Lindell suffered a blow last month when a federal judge upheld a $5 million arbitration award in favor of a software programmer who questioned the evidence that Lindell claimed proved China interfered in the 2020 US presidential election and tipped the outcome to Joe Biden. Lindell revealed in January that Fox News had ceased showing MyPillow advertising due to a financial disagreement.
Lindell verified on Wednesday that MyPillow owes approximately $217,000 in rent to Delaware-based First Industrial LP for its Shakopee property. He stated that MyPillow no longer needed the space and withdrew its remaining inventory from the warehouse in June before subleasing the space to another company through December.
Another company was supposed to start subleasing the space in January, but they backed out and “left us all stranded,” he claimed. MyPillow offered to find another tenant, he explained, but the landlord preferred to reclaim control of the warehouse. The $217,000 is for overdue rent in January and February, he stated. He also stated that MyPillow continues to lease premises elsewhere.
According to the Star Tribune, a Scott County judge on Tuesday agreed to the warehouse owner’s request to legally evict MyPillow, which did not oppose the landlord’s request.
“MyPillow has more or less vacated, but we’d like to do this by the book,” attorney Sara Filo, representing First Industrial, said at a hearing Tuesday, according to the newspaper. “At this point there’s a representation that no further payment is going to be made under this lease, so we’d like to go ahead with finding a new tenant.”
Lindell, who continues to spread former President Donald Trump’s allegations that the 2020 election was stolen from him, in part because to manipulated voting machine systems, is still facing defamation lawsuits from two voting machine firms. Lawyers who had previously represented him in such matters resigned due to unpaid expenses.