MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, a Trump supporter and fierce critic of the 2020 presidential election, won a key battle in court this week.
On Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a federal judge’s ruling from last year requiring Lindell to pay $5 million to software developer Robert Zeidman.
The federal judge’s ruling was based on the conclusion of an arbitration panel that was convened in 2023.
🚨 BREAKING: Mike Lindell Wins Appeal in $5M Election Data Challenge Case
A federal appeals court has tossed out the $5 million arbitration ruling against @realMikeLindell, declaring the arbitrators overstepped their bounds by rewriting the terms of his 2021 Cyber Symposium… pic.twitter.com/xU1jei7XEm
— LindellTV (@RealLindellTV) July 23, 2025
In their own ruling filed Wednesday, Circuit Judges James Loken, Lavenski Smith, and L. Steven Grasz said the arbitration panel had exceeded its authority in finding Lindell owed Zeidman $5 million.
Zeidman had argued to the arbitration panel that Lindell owed him $5 million because he won the famous contest the MyPillow founder held after the 2020 presidential election.
In August of 2021, Lindell held a “Prove Mike Wrong Challenge” offering a $5 million reward to anyone who could disprove his belief that the 2020 election had been stolen.
The contest was based on Lindell’s assertion that he possessed data, specifically “packet captures” and other cyber data, proving foreign interference — particularly from China — in the election.
Do you own any MyPillow products?
Zeidman subsequently entered the contest and submitted a 15-page report allegedly proving that Lindell’s packet capture data (PCAP) was unrelated to the 2020 election.
However, the contest judges determined that his report didn’t sufficiently prove that Lindell’s PCAP was unrelated to the 2020 election.
I helped to write the contest rules, served on the contest panel, testified at the arbitration, and I agree with the federal ruling that overturns the Zeidman arbitration ruling. Congratulations to Mike Lindell!https://t.co/Zvah1Ylev1
— Dr Douglas G Frank (@DrFrankModels) July 23, 2025
Unhappy with this ruling, Zeidman then sought arbitration with a panel of three arbitrators, and they in turn ruled on April 19, 2023, that he’d won the contest and was therefore owed $5 million.
But the three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed with this conclusion.
“We conclude that the panel effectively amended the unambiguous Challenge contract when it used extrinsic evidence to require that the data provided was packet capture data, thereby violating established principles of Minnesota contract law and our arbitration precedents,” the panel wrote.
“Fair or not, agreed-to contract terms may not be modified by the panel or by this court,” they added.
Lindell celebrated the ruling.
“This is vindication,” he told The Hill. “This opens a door that no man can shut. I am so excited. I mean, this is an answer to prayer.”
Lindell similarly told Reuters that “all I want to do is secure our elections — period.” He also called the ruling “a great day for America.”
BTS: Mike Lindell outside the White House following his major legal win
Fresh off a judge tossing out the $5 million arbitration case over Election Security, @realMikeLindell sits down for a special episode of The Mike Lindell Show – doubling down on election integrity efforts… pic.twitter.com/5w8vDhDStr
— LindellTV (@RealLindellTV) July 24, 2025
Zeidman, in turn, was not pleased by the ruling.
“Your readers can judge for themselves if the Eight Circuit’s decision today is more persuasive, or rings in truth louder, than the unanimous contrary decision of three arbitrators who heard all the evidence, including one appointed by Mr. Lindell,” his attorney, Brian Glasser, told The Hill in an email.
This ruling comes a month after Lindell was ordered to pay another man, former Dominion Voting Systems employee Eric Coomer, $2.3 million for having defamed him as “a traitor to the United States.”
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
