MyPillow has been ordered to vacate the warehouse it formerly occupied by a court in Minnesota.
According to The Associated Press, Mike Lindell, the founder of MyPillow and a well-known election denier, stated that the eviction is simply a formality due to the landlord’s desire to reclaim the property.
The Minneapolis warehouse, measuring around 125,000 square feet, has been under lease by Lindell since December 2015. The lease agreement, which has been amended twice, spans a duration of 10 years, seven months, and 20 days. As per the eviction complaint, the monthly rent for the warehouse was $57,794.12. The landlord of the warehouse is First Industrial LP.
The complaint, dated March 7, alleges that Lindell has not made rent payments for February and March 2024. The lease agreement states that if MyPillow fails to pay rent on more than two occasions in a 12-month period, the landlord has the right to retake possession of the premises.
Lindell did not respond to the eviction complaint or attend the hearing on Wednesday, which led the judge to issue the eviction order. In an interview with the AP, Lindell admitted that MyPillow is indebted to the Delaware-based company for approximately $217,000 in unpaid rent.
According to Lindell, his company no longer required the warehouse space and decided to vacate it in June. They then subleased it to another company until December, but unfortunately, that company backed out in January, leaving them in a difficult situation. MyPillow made an effort to find a new tenant, but the landlord insisted on reclaiming the warehouse.
According to The Star Tribune, Sara Filo, the attorney representing First Industrial LP, stated that MyPillow had “more or less vacated but we’d like to do this by the book.”
Lindell is currently dealing with multiple defamation lawsuits filed by two voting machine companies. These lawsuits came about as a result of Lindell spreading false information regarding the 2020 presidential election, claiming that it was fraudulent and stolen from former President Trump. In February, a federal judge made a ruling stating that Lindell must pay $5 million in an election data dispute case.
In July 2023, a number of prominent retailers decided to remove MyPillow products from their shelves. This development led to MyPillow taking the initiative to auction off various pieces of equipment, including forklifts and conveyor belts.
In January, Lindell found himself embroiled in a dispute with Fox News when the network decided to stop airing MyPillow’s ads. Although he does owe Fox approximately $7.8 million, Lindell believes that the network canceled the ads in an attempt to silence him regarding his election claims.
