Coomer is alleging that Lindell's statements on his FrankSpeech streaming platform amplifying an accusation made by Colorado podcaster Joe Oltmann that Coomer rigged the 2020 election have caused his reputation to become "irreparably tarnished," and inspired credible threats to his life.
Lindell's attorneys aren't attempting to prove that the 2020 was actually rigged, but that the MyPillow CEO believed the statements he made, including that Coomer was treasonous and a traitor to his country.
Coomer's lawsuit, filed in 2022, accuses Lindell of a targeted defamation campaign sparked by an accusation Oltmann made on his Conservative Daily Podcast on November 9, 2020, shortly after media organizations began calling the 2020 presidential election for Joe Biden.
"Lindell aligned himself with an Antifa-obsessed Colorado podcaster and conspiracy theorist, Joseph Oltmann, who had made up a story about overhearing someone identified only as 'Eric, the Dominion guy' claim to have rigged the election against former President Trump on a supposed 'Antifa conference call,'" the complaint reads.
Coomer was the first witness to take the stand after opening statements on June 3, and under direct examination by his legal team, walked jurors through the basics of how Dominion Voting Systems' systems work, including an adjudication system that has Coomer's name on its patent.
The initial testimony about the voting systems seemed designed to illustrate that Coomer could not have altered the results of the 2020 presidential election if he wanted to.
After the technical introduction, Coomer's lawyer, Charlie Cain, moved on to Oltmann's November 9, 2021, podcast statements, when Oltmann claimed to have infiltrated an Antifa conference call and heard Coomer say, “Don’t worry about the election, Trump’s not gonna win. I made f——-g sure of that!”
"Were you on that call?" Cain asked. "I was not," Coomer replied.
Coomer walked jurors through the threats he received in the wake of Oltmann's podcast, and the security measures he took.
Jurors were shown a video of Oltmann appearing on Lindell's FrankSpeech platform with an interviewer named Brannon Howse in early May 2021, along with statements accusing Coomer of election malfeasance made on FrankSpeech by former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters (currently serving a nine-year sentence for dereliction of duty in that role), Howse and podcaster David Clements. Several videos were of Lindell himself, making statements like: "Eric Coomer... You're disgusting, treasonous. I have the evidence, the evidence is there."
Lindell has never produced any evidence that the 2020 presidential election was rigged.
Mike Lindell in prayer before his defamation trial began on Monday in a Denver federal courthouse
Brendan Joel Kelley
"If you are planning to vote for the autocratic, narcissistic, fascists, ass-hat blowhard and his Christian jihadist VP pic, UNFRIEND ME NOW! No, I’m not joking. I’m all for reasoned political discourse and healthy debate — I’m looking at you [ 3 names of friends]. I disagree with you three on many philosophical grounds but respect your opinions. Only and absolute FUCKING IDIOT could ever vote for that wind-bag fuck-tard FASCIST RACIST FUCK! No bullshit, I don’t give a damn if you’re friend, family, or random acquaintance, pull the lever, mark an oval, touch a screen for that
carnival barker—UNFRIEND ME NOW"
The word "fuck-tard" would continue to echo through Coomer's testimony, mostly thanks to Lindell's attorneys, who at one point had Coomer explain that the neologism was a combination of the words "fucking" and "retard."
Coomer admitted he regretted the posts, but characterized them as hyperbolic ranting — an angle Lindell's lawyers are attempting to adopt for their client in defense of his accusations against Coomer.
"Do you fear for your life during this trial?" Coomer's attorney asked him. "Yes," he responded.
The direct examination with Coomer explaining the impetus for his lawsuit. "I didn't just lose my livelihood, I lost my life," he told jurors. "[Lindell's] comments led to threats to my life that continue to this day. This is the only avenue that I have to help hold accountable people that have defamed me and caused me to live in fear on an almost daily basis."
Testimony on June 4 kicked off with Lindell in hot water for tweeting and giving an interview to his own FrankSpeech platform the day before. While Lindell wasn't held in contempt for violating Judge Nina Y. Wang's sequestration order, he said he'd keep his phone off in the courtroom and refrain from social media in the future.
Lindell lawyer Kachouroff began cross-examining Coomer, showing the jury his Facebook posts with the anti-Trump rhetoric and vulgarity, and alleging that Coomer had destroyed his own reputation before Mike Lindell ever mentioned his name.
Kachouroff also questioned why Coomer never approached Lindell directly to address the perceived falsehoods, and questioned Coomer about Dominion systems in Georgia that had needed fixes in the 2020 election.
Kachouroff also pointed out to the jury that Coomer has filed five defamation lawsuits naming more than two dozen individuals, painting him as a serial litigant looking to get rich.
After Coomer left the witness box, his lawyers called Matt Crane, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, to the stand. Crane testified that Coomer's reputation was unsullied in the community of election officials they both worked in, but that Lindell's statements affected public perception of Coomer, making him unhirable in the field.
Crane, a Republican, took every opportunity to express his disgust with people who capitalize on election malinformation, very apparently referring to Lindell. "There's no honor in that," he said. "I think, quite frankly, it's anti-American."
The trial resumed the morning of June 5, with Joe Oltmann expected to take the stand in the afternoon.
