MyPillow exec Lindell says FBI agents seized his cellphone

The chief executive of MyPillow said Tuesday that federal agents seized his cellphone and questioned him about a Colorado clerk who has been charged in what prosecutors say was a "deceptive scheme" to breach voting system technology used across the country

He said that FBI agents approached him in the drive-through of a fast food restaurant. He said that the agents questioned him about his ties to Doug Frank, an Ohio teacher who claims voting machines have been manipulated.

He said that the agents told him they had a warrant to seize his phone. A letter signed by an assistant U.S. attorney in Colorado was shown on a video version of his show.

It was not clear what the circumstances of the investigation were. The Justice Department didn't reply to a request for comment about the seizure.

I can confirm that the FBI was at that location executing a search warrant authorized by a federal judge.

Peters has been charged in Colorado with a number of offenses, including attempting to influence a public servant, criminal impersonation and official malfeasance. In Colorado, the Republican was elected to oversee elections. The deputy clerk pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years of supervised release.

Peters has appeared with people who made false claims about the election. Peters and Knisley are accused of being involved in a deceptive scheme which was designed to influence public servants, breach security protocols, exceed permissible access to voting equipment, and set in motion the eventual distribution of confidential information to unauthorized people.

In Mesa County, Colorado, a photo and video of confidential voting system passwords were posted on social media and a conservative website. Mesa County is located on the border with Utah and has unique passwords maintained by the state.

Peters appeared at a cybersymposium hosted by Lindell, who promised to reveal proof of voting machine manipulation during the event.

Attendees and state officials said that a copy of the voting system hard drive was distributed and posted online.

The software used by election offices around the country was in the copy. The unauthorized release provided a potential practice environment that would allow anyone to look for vulnerabilities that could be used in a future election, according to experts.

After the 2020 election, there has been no evidence of widespread fraud or manipulation, while reviews in state after state have upheld the results.

Several election security experts are worried about the Mesa County incident. Unauthorized people may have been allowed to access voting systems.

The federal agents questioned him about when he first met Frank, an Ohio math and science educator, who is among a group of people who have been traveling across the U.S. meeting with community groups claiming to have evidence that voting machines were rigged.

Prosecutors say Frank met with Peters and her staff in her office. Frank told Peters that the county's election management system was vulnerable to outside interference and that the group discussed concerns the state was going to "wipe" the machines.

Is that true?

Writers contributed to the report.