Here’s what happened at Mike Lindell’s cyber symposium, from him rushing on stage to Bolsonaro’s son giving him a MAGA hat signed by Trump

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Mike Lindell is a leading proponent of irrelevant voter-fraud conspiracy theories. Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post via Getty Images

Mike Lindell just held a 72-hour voter fraud “cyber symposium” in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Speakers included Ronald Watkins, Steve Bannon, and son of Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro.

Here is what happened.

Lindell said the event will prove his theories on voter fraud

Lindell is a staunch supporter of Trump. MANDEL NGAN / AFP via Getty Images

Mike Lindell, a leading proponent of irrelevant voter-fraud conspiracy theories, spent several months gathering information he said would prove China helped Joe Biden “steal” the presidential election last year. 2020 from Donald Trump.

It culminated in MyPillow CEO holding a 72 -hour “cyber symposium” in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, between Tuesday and Thursday.

Lindell said he had 37 terabytes of information related to voter fraud to disclose at the cyber symposium, which was livestreamed on his Frank website. He said he would give $ 5 million to anyone who could forgive the data, provided they attend the event in person.

The event features controversial speakers, as well as a documentary played over and over again

Steve Bannon spoke at the event. Grace Dean / Insider

Speakers at the event included conspiracy theorists Ronald Watkins, Raheem Kassam, and Steve Bannon, as well as the son of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

Read more: The MyPillow man said God helped him beat a crack addiction to build a thousands of dollar empire. Now his religious devotion to Trump threatens to overthrow everyone.

And between speeches, attendees watched a series of videos. This included watching the same documentary full of conspiracy theory four times on Tuesday, Salon reporter Zachary Petrizzo said.

Jair Bolsonaro’s son gave Lindell a MAGA hat signed by Trump

Eduardo Bolsonaro gave a speech at the event. Grace Dean / Insider

Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, gave Lindell a “Make America Great Again” hat he said Trump had signed, on Tuesday.

The hat was signed “to Mike, a great patriot,” Lindell said, adding, “Thank you, Mr. President, our true president.”

The story continues

Bolsonaro gave a speech on voter fraud in Brazil. Jair Bolsonaro suggested that Brazil’s voting machines were used to suspend the country’s election, which led to the country’s election authority launching an investigation into Bolsonaro.

Lindell once against the exploded Fox News

Lindell was formerly one of the biggest advertisers on the Tucker Carlson show. Fox News; Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post via Getty Images

Throughout the event Lindell criticized several news outlets including another attack on Fox News in which he indicated that he would not trust the network to report the weather.

“I said the other day that they should be a weather channel,” the CEO of MyPillow said Tuesday, per The Washington Times. “And the next day I changed my mind because they didn’t report the coming storm.”

Lindell has battled Fox News several times over the past few months after the outlet pushed for moderation of its content and refused to cover up some of his deleted theories about the 2020 presidential election.

It ended with Lindell pulling MyPillow ads from Fox News last month after it refused to air ads for its cyber symposium. Lindell was formerly one of the biggest advertisers on the Tucker Carlson show.

A spokesman for Fox News told CNN that the network did not send a reporter to cover the symposium.

Lindell invited a reporter to interview him on stage, before he was called a “cancer”

Lindell danced about a Salon reporter from the main stage. AP Photo / Manuel Balce Ceneta

But Fox News isn’t the only outlet on the firing line.

Lindell has repeatedly quarreled with Salon reporter Zachary Petrizzo in interviews, phone calls, and livestreams.

After ranting about Petrizzo’s work on stage Tuesday, along with calling his articles “hit jobs,” Lindell texted him the night before inviting him for an interview.

“Zach go write your trash, and then we will interview on stage,” the text message read.

But on Wednesday, Lindell withdrew the offer.

“Lose the number. You’re a cancer in our country,” he texted Petrizzo, before calling him “crazy.”

The insider views screenshots of messages.

Lindell fled the stage after a judge ruled Dominion could pursue the lawsuit against him

Lindell took to the stage when news broke that the $ 1.3 billion Dominion suit-machine company scandal filed against him would continue.

Lindell attempted to dismiss the defamation lawsuit, but a U.S. district judge ruled Wednesday that the case could proceed in full.

“After the news broke around 6 p.m. Wednesday that his attempt to clear the lawsuit was unsuccessful, Lindell was seen on video getting down from his seat and suddenly rushing onto the stage, disappearing behind a dark curtain, “reported Insider Cheryl Teh.

The livestream was instead replaced by a video reel showing articles about voter fraud, along with an image of Lindell hugging a pillow.

One reporter was reportedly removed from the event – but returned again

Lindell’s security frog marched the reporter outside the event. Drew Angerer / Getty Images

According to Salon’s Petrizzo, a reporter from right-wing outlet The Gateway Pundit will “frog-march” show the event Wednesday afternoon.

Petrizzo told Insider that the reporter was “extremely rude” and “very aggressive” towards other journalists. Petrizzo said the Pundit reporter also pushed a camera into his face and surreptitious recorded his laptop.

Pundit did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

Lindell said he was attacked and claimed Antifa was trying to enter the event

Lindell said Thursday morning that he was attacked Wednesday night when he returned to his hotel room.

A spokesman for the Sioux Falls Police Department told The Associated Press that his officers took a report about an attack on a hotel near the symposium at 11.30pm on Wednesday. They did not say if Lindell was involved in the incident.

Retired military colonel Phil Waldron said they had received “credible threat warnings” about two weeks before, and they had “someone working with the crowd … seeing threats. “

He added that there were “really radical people outside trying to penetrate” the event and attendees were exchanging press badges in the parking lot.

“The big end game was to discredit all the legislators who had the guts to be here,” Waldron said. “Obviously they’re trying to cover up the message that Mike is trying to get out.”

“So it’s a common activity that’s kind of insurrection,” he added.

Lindell also said his staff told him “Antifa thing” was trying to penetrate the event.

Lindell’s website Frank sent an email to subscribers Thursday afternoon with the subject: “Mike Lindell and His Cyber ​​Symposium Attacked Please Share Everywhere.”

The email included video footage of Lindell discussing the attack at the event and Waldron speaking about the alleged security threats.

The event also included prayers and the national anthem

Before launching into a series of speeches, the second day of the symposium began with morning prayers and national anthem, The Dispatch’s Khaya Himmelman said.

Audience size has decreased over the course of the event, according to reports

Petrizzo’s Salon reported on the first day of the event there were “a ton of Republican state legislators and their staff.”

But not many attendees remained until the symposium was over.

Petrizzo said the next day that most had already left. “Only about half of the people here on day two came back for the third day,” he added Thursday.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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