Smartmatic vents to judge that 'years have passed' since Mike Lindell was sanctioned, cries out for harsher contempt

Source: Law & Crime

Jun 19th, 2026, 8:36 am


After a federal judge subjected MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell to a daily civil contempt fine for not paying a cent in sanctions owed to Smartmatic over a period of several years, the voting machine company's lawyers have tallied the damage and asked for more.

In a brief notice filed before U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, Smartmatic said it has been 72 days since the Donald Trump-appointed jurist ordered a $500 "daily penalty" in an attempt to force the 2020 election conspiracy theorist and detractor of all electronic voting machines to pay $56,369 in sanctions in full.

Nichols' sanctions order goes back to 2022, when Lindell was found to have filed "frivolous" counterclaims against Smartmatic. Smartmatic now reports that Lindell still hasn't paid "any" sanctions — meaning the daily fine has not actually had the effect of coercing his compliance.

According to Smartmatic, Lindell has racked up $36,000 in contempt fines since April, bringing the new grand total to $92,369. The notice insisted on "civil contempt penalties to a greater amount" to try to put a stop to the "continued violations." "Four years have passed since this Court determined Lindell owes monetary sanctions to Smartmatic," the lawyers said, lamenting that the MyPillow CEO "has yet to make any payment […] pursuant to the sanction order."

Read more: https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/smartmatic-vents-to-judge-that-four-years-have-passed-since-mike-lindell-was-sanctioned-cries-out-for-harsher-contempt-penalties/