Who attacked Mike Lindell? Cops release suspect photo while witness claims there was no assault

SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA: MyPillow chief executive Mike Lindell claimed he was attacked on Wednesday night, August 11. Lindell told the attendees of his 72-hour marathon cyber symposium about the attack on Thursday morning, August 12. Lindell said he was in pain and he wanted everyone to know what happened. His cyber symposium was centered around his attempts to prove baseless election fraud claims.

"Last night when I got to the hotel, I was attacked," Lindell said onstage. "I'm OK. It hurts a little bit. I just want everyone to know all the evil that's out there." Lindell also spoke about the incident on a conservative talk show ‘FlashPoint’.

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He said he was approached by a man who wanted a photo. “He put his arm around and stuck his finger, it was so much pressure, I just knew if I did anything something more was coming,” Lindell said, gesturing to his side. “He jammed it in where it was just piercing pain.” Lindell also said that while he had filed a report of an assault with the Sioux Falls Police Department, he was conducting his own investigation into how the photo-seeker could have shoved an object between his ribs, leaving him unable to move his right arm.

Police spokesman Sam Clemens earlier told the Associated Press that officers took a report on Thursday morning. He said the assault allegedly took place at 11.30 pm on August 11. No one was taken to a hospital, Clemens said. Police now have a suspect. 

Who attacked Mike Lindell?

The Sioux Falls Police Department’s Twitter account shared a photo of the suspect without naming him. Earlier, Clemens had declined to release the report, saying police reports are confidential under state law, and declined further comment, citing an ongoing investigation.

The tweet read: “We are looking for help to identify this man. He is suspected in committing an assault at a hotel near Russell St and West Ave last Wednesday night, Aug 11. Please call Crime Stoppers 367-7007 with any tips or information.” A follow-up tweet said, “Subject was identified.”

While police have yet to reveal the man’s identity, the incident itself has been called exaggerated. A witness to the incident said he saw no reason for Lindell to claim he was attacked. Jeff Buongiorno, a Republican congressional candidate in Florida, said, “There was no attack.”

Buongiorno told the Associated Press that he and two other conference attendees were “shooting the breeze” at the hotel bar late Wednesday when they spotted Lindell making his way through the lobby. They approached him and asked if they could take a photo with Lindell. 

As Buongiorno finished taking the photos, another man Buongiorno did not know approached the group and asked if he too could have a photo with Lindell. Buongiorno offered to snap the photos with the man’s phone.

 

In Lindell’s version of the events, however, the second man wrapped his arm around him and shoved an object into his side. He pointed to a photo that showed the man had a yellow object in his hands. “It happened pretty fast, but the guy knew what he was doing,” Lindell said, adding that it was “one of the worst attacks on me I’ve ever had.” Salon reporter Zachary Petrizzo said witnesses told him the yellow object in question was likely a tangerine. Buongiorno said nothing he saw could be described as an attack that would leave Lindell in pain. He added Lindell showed no indication anything was amiss as he walked to the glass elevator and rode it to the 6th floor.

As per Lindell, Buongiorno would not have seen the assault from where he was standing to take the photo. Lindell added that he was scared that saying anything would have escalated the situation and that he doubled over in pain as soon as the elevator doors closed. Buongiorno, per the Associated Press, was concerned Lindell’s claim would take up police time and resources and that the photo-seeker was falsely accused.