MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell’s Facebook posts are full of insider information from January 6
Lindell has posted multiple images and videos from January 6 that depict his actions in the lead-up to the Capitol insurrection and potentially implicate others
Written by Olivia Little
Research contributions from Pam Vogel & Alex Walker
Published
MyPillow CEO and pro-Trump media darling Mike Lindell has been a leading voice in pushing dangerous conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election (and bankrolling the proliferation of this lie) across right-wing media and social media, most recently through a two-hour film filled with disinformation. He pushed this conspiracy theory in appearances at two rallies the day before the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. He also visited the White House nine days after the insurrection to reportedly encourage then-President Donald Trump to consider enacting martial law.
Now, several of Lindell’s public social media posts appear to reveal additional information about his activities in the lead-up to the events that day -- and could implicate other prominent figures.
“Save America March” VIP section photo
A photo posted on both Lindell’s prolific personal Facebook account and his public Facebook page appears to show Lindell, QAnon supporter and former Trump adviser Michael Flynn, and an individual that appears to be Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) in a VIP section of the January 6 “Save America” rally outside of the White House, held just before the Capitol insurrection.
The photo shows Lindell posing with Flynn, and the caption reads: “It has been a long day so far! Becoming great friends...it’s an honor to help General Flynn! Donald J. Trump is going to be our president for 4 more years!” ABC News previously reported that Flynn was invited to attend the rally and that a source indicated he had left partway through the event out of disgust for the “pointless gathering.”
Another person in the background of the photo appears to be Lauren Boebert, a far-right militia-connected member of Congress from Colorado. (Here are some photos of what Boebert was wearing that day.)
The extent of Boebert’s involvement and participation in the January 6 events remains unclear. Boebert does not appear to have publicly acknowledged that she attended the rally, but did tweet on January 6, “Today is 1776.” The year is a reference to the American Revolution and is commonly used by followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory.
Boebert was originally included on the Wild Protest website’s “invited speakers & featured guests” list for what appears to have been a separate planned event that day -- but Media Matters was unable to find evidence of any remarks she may have delivered. In mid-January, the editorial board of the largest newspaper in Colorado demanded an investigation into Boebert’s role in the insurrection. The Washington Post has reported that two Democratic lawmakers saw Boebert leading a “large” tour through the Capitol tunnels days before January 6. (Boebert has denied this.)
Lindell’s livestream videos from January 6
Lindell has frequently interacted with Trump in recent years, including in the final days of his administration. Videos from his Facebook account on January 6 indicate that his contact with influential figures in the Trump inner circle may have been even more extensive in the lead-up to that day.
Lindell posted four videos to his personal Facebook account on January 6, spanning the hours before and after the putsch at the Capitol.
In a livestreamed video posted at 7:22 a.m. EST, Lindell claimed to have met with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s son the night before the insurrection.
“The whole world is watching,” he claimed. “I met with Brazil last night, the president of Brazil’s son.”
(At the start of the video, he told viewers he will be speaking in an hour and a half. However, Media Matters did not find any evidence that Lindell delivered remarks on January 6.)
In a second video from 7:26 a.m. EST, Lindell said he spent the previous two days with Flynn, conspiracy theorist and former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, and unnamed senators; he also claimed to have had contact with then-Vice President Mike Pence.
“I’ve spent the last two days -- well, actually the last two months, but the last two days with Sidney Powell, Gen. Flynn, senators,” Lindell said. “I got to the vice president with a note to him.”
It is unclear what the alleged note said, but many pro-Trump conspiracy theories circulating at the time suggested that the vice president had the power to block Congress' certification of the election result on January 6 -- or even to reverse it in Trump's favor.
In a different livestreamed video from 5:07 p.m. EST, which he also posted to his public Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram accounts, Lindell stated that he was with Flynn the night before the insurrection as well, which aligns with previous reports of a January 5 meeting at the Trump International Hotel that included Lindell, Flynn, several members of the Trump family and inner circle, and several senators. In the video, Lindell says, “I was with Gen. Flynn and all this -- they were getting watched closely last night. And sure enough they did it again.”
In his Facebook video, Lindell made Civil War comparisons, repeated false conspiracy theories about Dominion Voting Systems, and called the 2020 presidential election the “biggest crime in history for an election.”
Lindell also denied the reality of the Capitol insurrection after the event, calling it a “joke” in a video he posted on Facebook, Twitter, Parler, and Instagram: “First of all, the riots you’re seeing on TV, that’s a joke. My nieces were down there, and they said 99.99% was -- it was just a peaceful protest.”
And Lindell doubled down on his proliferation of the lie that President Joe Biden did not win the election, saying, “There’s so much fraud that every state is going to be turned over. It was the biggest election corruption in the history. And Donald Trump is going to be our president for four more years.”