Defamation trial begins for MyPillow boss Mike Lindell over election claims

A US federal trial has begun for MyPillow chief executive and Donald Trump supporter Mike Lindell, who is accused of defaming a former employee at an electronic voting company in the bitter aftermath of the 2020 election.

Mr Lindell is being sued by a former employee of Dominion Voting Systems, who claims Lindsell falsely accused him of helping to steal the vote - which was won by Joe Biden.

The man says his reputation was "irreparably tarnished" by Mr Lindell.

Dominion itself has also filed cases against several Trump allies who it claims baselessly alleged that the company's voting machines had been rigged during the vote.

Trump himself asserted that there had been widespread voter fraud – a claim that was labelled "baseless" by a select committee report into an attack on the US Capitol on 6 January 2021 by Trump's supporters.

Proceedings in Mr Lindell's case began in Denver, Colorado, on Monday with jury selection.

Outside the court, he said: "We're in a battle of biblical proportions, of evil and good."

He is expected to take the stand to defend himself during the jury trial. Judge Nina Wang, a Biden appointee, will preside.

The man who brought the case, Eric Coomer, is a Colorado resident who handled security for Dominion Voting Systems.

He filed lawsuits in 2022 against Mr Lindell and two of his companies, My Pillow, Inc and Lindell TV, for an undisclosed amount.

A court filing says: "After more than fifteen years as a respected professional at the top of his field, Dr Coomer's reputation has been irreparably tarnished."

He "now endures frequent credible death threats and the burden of being made the face of an imagined criminal conspiracy of unprecedented scope in American history", says the filing.

In 2021, several major US shops stopped carrying Mr Lindell's products as he began endorsing election conspiracies. Trump himself has falsely claimed the 2020 election was "rigged" by mass voter fraud.

Dominion sued Fox News for $1.6bn (£1.2bn) accusing the network of spreading lies about the election. Fox settled out of court for $787.5m.