MyPillow CEO and founder Mike Lindell speaks to reporters at his MyPillow factory in the Minneapolis suburb of Shakopee, Minn., on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, as he launches his campaign for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in 2026. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)
After a federal judge subjected MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell to a daily civil contempt fine for not paying a cent in sanctions owed to Smartmatic over a period of several years, the voting machine company's lawyers have tallied the damage and asked for more.
In a brief notice filed before U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, Smartmatic said it has been 72 days since the Donald Trump-appointed jurist ordered a $500 "daily penalty" in an attempt to force the 2020 election conspiracy theorist and detractor of all electronic voting machines to pay $56,369 in sanctions in full.
Nichols' sanctions order goes back to 2022, when Lindell was found to have filed "frivolous" counterclaims against Smartmatic.
Smartmatic now reports that Lindell still hasn't paid "any" sanctions — meaning the daily fine has not actually had the effect of coercing his compliance.
According to Smartmatic, Lindell has racked up $36,000 in contempt fines since April, bringing the new grand total to $92,369. The notice insisted on "civil contempt penalties to a greater amount" to try to put a stop to the "continued violations."
"Four years have passed since this Court determined Lindell owes monetary sanctions to Smartmatic," the lawyers said, lamenting that the MyPillow CEO "has yet to make any payment […] pursuant to the sanction order."
The judge previously rejected Lindell's claimed inability to pay, pointing to his $14.8 million in assets.
The MyPillow founder, running as a Republican for governor in Minnesota, claimed to have a "negative $18.7 million" net worth due to his liabilities. And yet, Smartmatic told the judge, he spent $187,037.87 in Minnesota gubernatorial campaign funds to buy copies of his own book "What Are the Odds? From Crack Addict to CEO" from his company — just to give the books away.
As a result, Nichols found that the record showed Lindell had assets and access to funds — legal defense or otherwise — sufficient to pay the sanctions, but he chose not to do so.
"Several pieces of unrebutted evidence illustrate that Lindell has paid for legal services in other proceedings since the Court entered the sanction order against him," the judge added, calling the daily contempt penalty "needed."