Former President Donald Trump threw a fit online after MyPillow CEO and noted conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell claimed on his talk show that agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seized his phone while he was in the drive-thru of a Hardee’s restaurant.
Lindell had claimed that “all different models” of cars with FBI agents surrounded his vehicle and an agent told him he had a warrant to seize Lindell's cell phone.
Lindell said he initially declined to surrender his phone because "I run five companies off that" and "I don't have a computer" while showing viewers a warrant dated September 7.
You can hear what Lindell said in the video below.
\u201cMike Lindell says the FBI stopped him at a Hardees in Minnesota today and seized his phone\u201d— Salty Irish\u2618Girl \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf2 (@Salty Irish\u2618Girl \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf2) 1663113691
While the FBI has declined to comment on the matter, Trump already has, throwing a major fit in a post on Truth Social, the struggling social media platform he created after he was booted from Twitter for inciting the January 6 insurrection.
Trump claimed that Americans "are now officially living in a Weaponized Police State, Rigged Elections, and all," pushing more conspiracies about the integrity of the 2020 general election, which he decisively lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
He added that the United States is viewed as a "laughing stock" to the rest of the world, and that "the majesty of the United States is gone." He concluded with a call for his followers to "TAKE BACK AMERICA!"
You can see Trump's complete post below.
Trump's outburst comes after a difficult week for him and his legal team.
Earlier, the Department of Justice (DOJ) ordered its agents to seize the phones of two top Trump aides and "blanketed his aides with about 40 subpoenas in a substantial escalation of the investigation into his efforts to subvert the 2020 election," according to people familiar with the inquiry who spoke to The New York Times.
The two men were identified as Boris Epshteyn, an in-house counsel, and Mike Roman, a campaign strategist who directed Election Day operations in 2020.
His latest rant has exposed him and Lindell to heated criticism.
\u201cMike Lindell claims the Feds just seized his cellphone with a warrant. This keeps getting worse for Trump by the hour!\u201d— Palmer Report (@Palmer Report) 1663115055
\u201cTrump is not handling the FBI taking Mike Lindell\u2019s (\u201cTHE pillow guy\u201d) phone well. Can only imagine the texts between those two.\u201d— Andrew Wortman \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Andrew Wortman \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1663129106
\u201cI'm assuming a lot of Trumpers are concerned that the confiscation of Mike Lindell's cell phone will delay his efforts getting Trump reinstated.\u201d— Duty To Warn \ud83d\udd09 (@Duty To Warn \ud83d\udd09) 1663169175
\u201cThe FBI apparently seized Mike Lindell\u2019s\nphone. See that, all those deleted messages sent by others in Trump\u2019s orbit are about to magically reappear. \ud83e\udd23\ud83d\ude05\ud83e\udd17\ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffd\ud83d\udc4f\n\nwomp womp.\u201d— Amy Siskind \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Amy Siskind \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1663120094
\u201cWould Mike Lindell flip on Trump? That\u2019s like asking if Matt Gaetz would attend a 5th grade girls choir sleepover.\u201d— cjmmn (@cjmmn) 1663116798
\u201cIf the FBI seized Mike Lindell\u2019s phone then they basically have Donald Trump\u2019s.\u201d— Adam Parkhomenko (@Adam Parkhomenko) 1663115468
\u201cI wonder if MAGA Christians believe Satan is their messiah because they believe criminals like Trump and Mike Lindell are victims.\u201d— David Weissman (@David Weissman) 1663139719
\u201cTrump is livid that the FBI seized Mike Lindell's phone. claiming "We are now officially living in a Weaponized Police State, Rigged Elections, and all.\u201d Don't underestimate the value of Lindell and Ephsteyn's phones to investigators. Both men were pivotal in lead-up to Jan 6.\u201d— Zev Shalev (@Zev Shalev) 1663155889
Lindell is a highly controversial figure and Trump acolyte who was banned from Twitter for continuing to promote the unfounded conspiracy that Trump won the 2020 general election.
Lindell attracted considerable attention when he held a three-day "Cyber Symposium" he billed as an arena in which he would unveil definitive proof the 2020 election was stolen. Instead, it crashed and burned when he failed to produce any evidence of fraud.
His phone was seized in connection with a 2021 breach of voting machines in Mesa County, Colorado, committed by former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who is facing felony charges for alleged tampering after sensitive voter machine data she leaked was presented at Lindell's Cyber Symposium.
