In the brisk chill of a Wednesday in St. Paul, Minnesota, MyPillow – the now nationally-known bedding company – was served an eviction order by a court, prompting it to vacate a warehouse in a suburb of Minneapolis it had once found use for. Mike Lindell, the controversial figurehead and founder of the company, known for his staunch denial of recent election results, unflappably brushed off the situation as nothing more than a technicality, stating the landlord simply sought to reclaim the property.
In an exclusive interaction with The Associated Press, Lindell refuted the notion that the eviction signaled ongoing financial distress. He professed, with a tone of optimism, that his fiscal situation was, in fact, stabilizing. This despite enduring a stringent credit squeeze the previous year which significantly impacted MyPillow’s cash inflow after numerous national retailers severed ties and a primary advertising platform was lost.
““We’re fine,” Lindell stated confidently.
His assertion comes just a month after a significant legal blow was dealt to him. A federal judge upheld a hefty $5 million arbitration award benefiting a software engineer who disputed data that Lindell claimed provided irrefutable evidence of China’s interference in the 2020 U.S. Presidential election. Lindell was left further beleaguered when, in January, Fox News ceased broadcasting MyPillow advertisements due to a billing disagreement.
Shedding light on the recent eviction, Lindell confirmed that MyPillow owed an estimated $217,000 in rent to First Industrial LP, a Delaware-based entity, for the Shakopee-based facility. However, Lindell reasoned that the space was no longer necessary and so, MyPillow vacated the premises in June. An attempt was made to sublet it to another company through December.
Unfortunately, a prospective sublessor who had committed to usurp the space from January reneged on their deal, which Lindell says left everyone involved “stranded”. MyPillow offered to locate another tenant, Lindell divulged, but the landlord opted to wrest back possession of the warehouse. The outstanding amount of $217,000 pertains to unpaid rent for the months of January and February, Lindell added. He furthered his stance of MyPillow’s solidity by affirming their ongoing leasing of space elsewhere.
The situation came to the attention of Scott County Judge Caroline Lennon following a request by the unset warehouse owner to execute MyPillow’s formal eviction. The company offered no contest to the claim.
Representing First Industrial, attorney Sara Filo, reportedly explained at the hearing, “MyPillow has more or less vacated but we’d like to do this by the book…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.” Lennon then validated and filed the eviction order.
Lindell, despite this setback and the looming shadow of multiple defamation lawsuits by two voting machine firms, remains firmly rooted in his propagation of former President Donald Trump’s narrative alleging that the 2020 election was stolen from him. His strident beliefs, however, came at the cost of his attorneys, who chose to step away from defending him, citing unpaid bills.
