MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell recounts being surrounded by FBI in drive-thru of Mankato Hardee's

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, whose quixotic attempt to sell the country on debunked election conspiracies has gone nowhere during the past two years, found himself back at the center of national attention Wednesday. But it took a fast-food run-in with the FBI and the seizure of his cellphone to get him there.

Lindell, speaking with the Star Tribune from another phone, recounted pulling through a Hardee's drive-thru in Mankato on Tuesday night only to have a group of federal agents surround him and seize his cellphone.

"A car pulled perpendicular in front of me. Another one to my right. Another one came up behind me, all different kinds of cars," Lindell said. "I opened the door, I said 'Who are you people?' And they said, 'We're the FBI.' "

Lindell said he was on his way home from an Iowa duck-hunting trip when he stopped to eat. In a nearly 40-minute interview, he lashed out at both political parties, the government and the media, including the "rotten Star Tribune," for not going along with his unfounded claims of election fraud.

He said authorities questioned him about Dominion Voting Systems and a Colorado clerk who has been charged in what prosecutors are calling a "deceptive scheme" to breach voting system technology used nationwide.

Lindell has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that Dominion rigged its voting machines to illegally give more votes to President Joe Biden than former President Donald Trump during the 2020 election. In state after state, reviews have upheld the fact that Biden won.

Federal prosecutors have charged Mesa County, Colo., Clerk Tina Peters with several offenses, including criminal impersonation and attempting to influence a public servant. A deputy clerk was also charged, plead guilty and was sentenced to two years of probation.

Lindell hosted a "cybersymposium" in August 2021 where Peters appeared onstage. The MyPillow magnate promised to reveal proof of voting machine manipulation during that event but did not follow through. Instead, a copy of Mesa County's voting system hard drive was distributed and posted online, attendees and state officials said. The copy included proprietary software used by election offices nationwide that experts said could allow anyone to probe the system for vulnerabilities.

Lindell has been among the loudest and most prominent voices pushing election fraud conspiracy theories since the 2020 election, relying on debunked claims from other sources.

He reiterated some of those claims Wednesday, blaming the Chinese Communist Party and "the uniparty, the deep state, the globalists" for "stealing" elections.

Lindell's false claims have not come without consequences. He and his MyPillow company face a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voter Systems and Smartmatic. Lindell and MyPillow have also filed lawsuits against the voting machine companies.

During the FBI encounter, Lindell said he asked the agents if their warrant was related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack by Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol. Lindell was in D.C. on Jan. 6 but not at the Capitol.

"They said, 'Absolutely not,' " according to Lindell, who said he then told the agents he'd happily testify before the "dumb" U.S. House committee that's investigating Jan. 6.

Likening the FBI's seizure of his cellphone to the "Gestapo in Nazi Germany," Lindell said he did not want to hand the phone over at first but did so after calling his lawyer, who told him he had no choice. He said he conducts day-to-day business for five companies from that phone.

Agents also asked him why he flies between different states, Lindell said. He told them, "I'm going to attorney generals and politicians, and I'm trying to get them to get rid of these voting machines in our country."

Lindell said he would have turned the phone over beforehand if the FBI would have "came and asked me."

"I'll give them anything they want," Lindell said. "They didn't have to take my phone and make a big scene at a Hardee's in Mankato, Minnesota."

In an Instagram post Wednesday, Lindell told his followers to "fight back" against the FBI seizing his phone "by shopping at MyPillow."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.