MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell returns to the Rocky Mountains next week to headline an election fraud conspiracy event featuring not only Colorado GOP Secretary of State hopeful Tina Peters, but Big Lie conspiracists from all over the Western United States, including two other aspiring Secretary of State candidates.
Joe Oltmann, founder of the far-right group FEC United, which has its own militia division, and who has called for the hanging of elected officials will emcee the event in Grand Junction Friday evening.
Other speakers include a trio of other elected officials: Nevada state Rep. Jim Marchant, who just won the GOP nomination for Secretary of State, Utah state Rep Phil Lyman, who along with Peters attended Lindell’s “Cyber Symposium” conference last August, and Arizona State Rep. Mark Finchem, who is appearing remotely.
Finchem, a member of the Oathkeepers militia, is also running for Arizona Secretary of State and with Trump’s endorsement, is considered the frontrunner to be the GOP nominee.
“Join us for an enlightening evening with nationally recognized experts, officials, and patriots,” reads the event flier. “Hard facts, real answers! Claims of voter violation, interference, legal fraud, and nefarious selections of candidates across the nation have captured the headlines since 2020’s BIG SURPRISE. Not only was the national election in question, but state and local municipal elections.”
Peters and other conspiracists insist without evidence that Mesa County’s 2021 municipal election, which Peters was barred from overseeing due to her numerous felony charges, was also rigged against conservative candidates. They rely on a report co-authored by another event speaker, Jeff O’Donnell, which has been investigated and debunked by the Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein.
Peters’ debunked claims are the basis for a new Lindell-funded movie, Selection Code, which reframes Peters’ alleged crimes as heroism. Former journalist-turned-conservative troll Lara Logan is the narrator/interviewer in the film. Logan is also speaking at next Friday’s event, albeit remotely. The movie also features the aforementioned O’Donnell, as well as one of the event organizers, Sherrona Bishop, a Peters ally who previously served as U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert’s campaign manager. Despite the similarity of the event’s name to the movie title as well as the fact that the movie’s biggest names are attending, there is no mention of a screening.
Reached for comment, Lindell confirms that he’s attending and that Bishop is helping to organize speakers. He says he is unaware of a screening. He also noted that the official premiere, which the trailer indicates is July 16, has been pushed to Aug. 20. Requests for comment from Marchant, Oltmann, Bishop, and O’Donnell went unanswered. This article will be updated with any responses received.
The last time Lindell made a public appearance in Colorado, he told a gaggle of reporters that he’s spent as much as $800,000 on Tina Peters’ legal defense. Those comments led Grand Junction progressive activist Anne Landman to file an ethics complaint against Peters for accepting gifts over the $65 limit. Last month the state’s Independent Ethics Commission determined that complaint to be non-frivolous. It’s the third complaint against Peters, all of which involve Lindell, either for direct financial support or rides on his private jet.
Tickets for the event cost $35. A spokesperson for the Peters campaign says the event, which is hosted by a group called Concerned Citizen of Colorado, is not associated with the campaign and that Clerk Peters is appearing in her official capacity rather than as a candidate.
“The campaign is not funding the event nor is Clerk Peters receiving any fundraising during the event or from the event,” said Peters spokesperson Karen Seibold.
Peters’ campaign already has a significant fundraising advantage over her main opponent, former Jefferson County Clerk Pam Anderson.
Conspiracist podcasters Jenn Orten and Sophie Anderson from Utah are also speaking. The pair host an online show called “Two Red Pills” and spoke at the same QAnon-linked conference in Salt Lake City last year that Peters attended.
The last listed speaker is Michael Gableman, who formerly served as a Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice, but in retirement was hired as Special Counsel by Wisconsin Republicans to conduct an investigation into the 2020 election. After releasing a report in March that endorsed numerous debunked legal theories, Gableman just last week refused a judge’s order to produce documents related to his investigation and is currently being fined $2000 a day for contempt.
