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yPillow CEO Mike Lindell has been denied access to the search warrant affidavit which justified the seizure of his cell phone at the hands of the FBI.
Eric Tostrud, a federal judge from the District of Minnesota, made the decision in an order Thursday, saying that the government and FBI “demonstrated a compelling interest in the ongoing criminal investigation,” outweighing Lindell’s right of access. Tostrud deniedLindell’s request for an injunction in the order.
“The extensive, 80-page search warrant affidavit describes in considerable detail ‘the nature, scope, and direction of the government’s investigation and the individuals and specific [activities] involved,’ including information obtained from recorded communications, confidential informants, and cooperating witnesses,” the filing said in explaining reasons to keep the search warrant materials under seal.
Lindell’s phone was taken at a Hardee’s drive-thru in Minnesota in September. He alleges that agents questioned him about a Colorado clerk who was charged in an alleged scheme to breach voting machines. There are no criminal allegations against Lindell himself.
