Priya Patel
TLDR:
- An “election crime” group helmed by Mike Lindell, the MyPillow founder, sent emails requesting personal information from local election officials and information about security programs.
- The Lindell-backed group, the Election Crime Bureau, impersonated the Center for Internet Security (CIS) and its Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center, leading to a warning advisory from CIS.
Businessman Mike Lindell, known for his support of election denial causes, is accused of spearheading a group called the Election Crime Bureau that allegedly impersonated the Center for Internet Security (CIS) and its Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center. The Lindell-backed group sent out emails to local election officials requesting personal information and details about security programs.
The emails, obtained by Rolling Stone and American Doom, asked for information like home addresses and cell phone numbers of election officials, as well as whether the counties were using monitoring systems developed by CIS to detect online threats to election systems. An advisory from CIS warned election officials not to click on any links in the emails or respond to them.
After the Lindell group’s emails were reported, criticism and skepticism emerged about their intentions. Lindell passed along a post claiming that CIS was engaging in a disinformation campaign against his Election Crime Bureau. Lindell’s controversial claims about the 2020 election have been widely debunked, and his efforts to challenge election results in Georgia, where Biden won in 2020, have faced resistance and backlash.
The message to local election officials comes amidst ongoing efforts by Republicans to challenge the results of the 2024 presidential election in Georgia, with a special focus on advancing Trump’s interests. Lindell’s involvement in this initiative has raised concerns about the security of upcoming elections and the integrity of the electoral process.
