Trump blasts 'weaponised' FBI as he fumes over seizure of My Pillows CEO's phone

Washington, Sep 15

Former President Donald Trump claimed the US had become a "weaponised police state" after fuming over a report that MyPillow CEO Mike Lindells cellphone had been seized by the FBI.

Lindell, one of the most prominent 2020 election conspiracy theorists, said federal agents took his phone while questioning him about Tina Peters, a Colorado clerk who is under incitement over allegations of tampering with election voting equipment, the Newsweek reported.

Lindell posted a video online charging that he was targeted by a "weaponised" FBI, adding what happened to him was "disgusting." In a post on Truth Social, Trump also made a similar claim while showing support for the man who frequently backs the "false claim" the former President lost the last election due to widespread voter fraud.

"Our Country is a laughing stock all over the World. The majesty of the United States is gone. Can't let this happen. TAKE BACK AMERICA!", he said.

Speaking on his online show The Lindell Report, the MyPillow CEO described how FBI agents approached him while he was at a Hardee's fast food restaurant in Mankato, Minnesota.

Lindell said the agents asked him about Peters, Dominion Voting Systems, and Doug Frank, an Ohio math teacher who claims he has a mathematical algorithm to prove the last election was stolen from Trump, which has frequently been debunked.

The agents then told Lindell they had a warrant to seize his phone and ordered him to turn it over. Lindell shared with the Washington Times a letter, he said, accompanied the search warrant which stated there is "an official criminal investigation of a suspected felony is being conducted by an agency of the United States and a Federal Grand Jury in the District of Colorado".

Last week, Peters, a Mesa County Clerk who ran for the GOP nomination for Colorado Secretary of State in June, pleaded not guilty to 10 felony and misdemeanor counts including tampering with election equipment and official misconduct, the Newsweek said.

Peters is accused of allowing an unauthorised person into a secure facility during an annual upgrade to Mesa County's software update conducted by Dominion employees in May, after which sensitive information from the machines was posted online.

It is unclear if Lindell himself is under investigation. FBI spokeswoman Vikki Migoya was reported to have told the media that she could confirm that the FBI was at that location executing a search warrant authorized by a federal judge."