MINNEAPOLIS (AP) \u2014 MyPillow founder Mike Lindell defamed the election technology company Smartmatic with false statements that its voting machines helped rig the 2020 presidential election, a federal judge in Minnesota ruled Friday.<\/p>\n
But U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan deferred until future proceedings the question of whether Lindell \u2014 one of the country\u2019s most prominent propagators<\/a> of false claims that the 2020 election was a fraud<\/a> \u2014 acted with the \u201cactual malice\u201d that Smartmatic still needs to prove to collect any damages. <\/p>\n The judge said there are \u201cgenuine fact disputes\u201d as to whether Lindell\u2019s statements were made \u201cwith knowledge that they were false or made with reckless disregard to their falsity.\u201d He noted that the defense says Lindell has an \u201cunwavering belief\u201d that his statements were truthful.<\/p>\n The statements cited by the judge arose from Lindell\u2019s criticism of the results of the 2020 election in California\u2019s Los Angeles County, which Democratic candidate Joe Biden carried with 71% of the vote over President Donald Trump and helped Biden secure the state\u2019s 55 electoral votes. <\/p>\n The county used Smartmatic\u2019s computerized touchscreen ballot-marking devices and was the company\u2019s only customer for the 2020 election. Lindell alleged the machines were rigged to change Trump votes to Biden votes.<\/p>\n The judge ruled there were 51 specific times when Lindell falsely claimed \u2014 in documentaries he produced and through various media and personal appearances \u2014 that Smartmatic interfered with the results.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Court concludes that, based on the record presented, no reasonable trier of fact could find that any of the statements at issue are true,\u201d Bryan wrote.<\/p>\n Smartmatic attorney Erik Connolly said they will be seeking \u201cnine-figure damages\u201d from Lindell and MyPillow for \u201cspreading lies\u201d about the company.<\/p>\n \u201cSmartmatic did not and could not have rigged the 2020 election,\u201d Connolly said in a statement. \u201cIt was impossible, and everything that Mr. Lindell said about Smartmatic was false.\u201d<\/p>\n Smartmatic has been on a winning streak, having reached settlements last year with two conservative news outlets, including Newsmax<\/a> and One America News Network<\/a>. The Florida-based company also still has an active case against Fox News<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lindell also has made similar claims against Dominion Voting Systems<\/a>. He lost a case involving the Denver-based company<\/a> in June when a jury ruled that he defamed a former Dominion employee by accusing him of treason. The jury awarded $2.3 million<\/a> in damages. <\/p>\n Lindell told The Associated Press shortly after the Smartmatic ruling was filed Friday that he hadn\u2019t seen it, but that it was \u201cthe most bizarre thing I\u2019ve ever heard.\u201d <\/p>\n Lindell went on to call Smartmatic \u201cone of the most corrupt companies in the world,\u201d and he vowed to keep fighting until its voting machines are \u201cmelted down and turned into prison bars.\u201d He said he\u2019ll take his crusade to eliminate voting machines in favor of paper ballots all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if he has to.<\/p>\n Lindell, known as the \u201cMyPillow\u201d guy for his bedding company, also said he recently reestablished residence in Minnesota as a step toward a likely run for governor against incumbent Democratic Gov. Tim Walz<\/a>. While MyPillow is based in the Minneapolis suburbs, Lindell had been living until recently in Texas.<\/p>\n