Did My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell intentionally defame a Dominion Voting Systems employee with public claims that he rigged the 2020 presidential election in favor of Joe Biden? Or is Lindell being unfairly targeted by Eric Coomer, a man he says he didn’t even know?

Jury selection marked the first day of the former Trump insider’s two-week defamation trial in Denver U.S. District Court at the Alfred A. Arraj United States Courthouse. Opening statements are expected to start Tuesday.

Five men and three women were chosen from the original jury pool of 52, who were asked questions regarding their opinions of President Donald Trump, whether they thought “January sixers” were patriots or criminals, and whether they own a My Pillow.

Lindell, his company, My Pillow Inc., and FrankSpeech LLC, now known as Lindell TV, are being sued for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and civil conspiracy by Coomer, who was the director of product strategy and security for Dominion Voting Systems during the 2020 election.

Dominion is one of the largest providers of voting machines and software in the United States.

Coomer, a Colorado resident, has accused the staunch MAGA supporter of spreading conspiracy theories by falsely claiming Dominion rigged the 2020 election and claiming that Coomer “should be jailed for treason,” according to court documents.

In a motion filed in late April, Coomer said that Lindell’s comments ruined his career and his life.

He has filed a series of lawsuits against conservative figures alleging the same basic sequence of events. Coomer’s claims originated with a November 2020 podcast recorded by Joe Oltmann. The Denver proceeding is the only one of Coomer’s lawsuits to go to trial.

Days after the presidential election, Oltmann alleged he had recently listened in on an “antifa” conference call — a reference to anti-fascist ideology.

On the call, an unnamed participant referenced “Eric … the Dominion guy.” Oltmann alleged “Eric” said, “Don’t worry about the election, (Donald) Trump is not gonna win. I made f-ing sure of that.”

Oltmann then conducted his own “investigation” by Googling the terms “Eric,” “Dominion,” and “Colorado.” Based on limited other information found online, he concluded Coomer was the one who allegedly made comments about election rigging. Oltmann repeated his story publicly, even after the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency found “no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.”

Oltmann has been subpoenaed to testify in Lindell’s trial, but Coomer’s attorneys told the judge that as of Monday, he had failed to show up for court.

Lindell, in a dark suit and glasses with a lapel in the shape of a silver cross, sat quietly with his attorneys.

On Monday morning, at least two dozen supporters, carrying signs and American flags, cheered and lined up to shake his hand.

Not everyone was complimentary of the man who still sells pillows, sheets and crosses on his website. One woman confronted him face-to-face on the courthouse steps and called him a fascist.

Lindell to take the stand

Lindell told The Denver Gazette that he intends to testify that he did not defame Coomer. “When you talk about defamation there’s only one truth, and that is, I didn’t even know the guy,” he said.

Lindell often characterizes himself as a “former crackhead” who lived the American dream when he built the multi-million-dollar MyPillow company from nothing. He stated during recent court proceedings that he has been financially devastated by lawsuits.

U.S. District Judge Nina Wang asked jurors whether any of them or a close family member donated or volunteered for any candidate or organization in conjunction with the 2020 election. She also asked if any of them had previously purchased MyPillow products.

During voir dire, one juror told Coomer’s attorney, David Beller, that her entire family has bought pillows from Lindell and that she is “a fan.”

Another responded, “I do enjoy the MyPillow,” but did not have any opinion of Lindell as a politician.”

When asked by Beller, none of the jurors believed that the 2020 election was rigged in favor of President Joe Biden.

Two of them were dismissed when they admitted that they could not put aside their personal feelings about Lindell’s conservative politics, which one juror described as “offensive.”

Numerous Lindell supporters filled the right side of the courtroom, stating that they plan to attend most days of the trial. One woman said she drove from Naples, Florida, to watch the proceedings, which Lindell calls “The Trial of the Century.”

“He’s a warrior. He’s a hero and he won’t give up,” his wife, Kendra Lindell, said.

Coomer will be the first witness to testify. Lindell and Conservative Daily podcaster Oltmann are also expected to be key witnesses during what promises to be a contentious two weeks of testimony.

The witness list is a who’s who of Colorado election officials, including embattled former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, Executive Director of the Colorado County Clerk’s Association Matt Crane and former Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams, according to court documents filed in April.