Defendants in high-profile court cases may sometimes be difficult to serve. They may have security or trying to stay out of the public eye. One such example includes a recent high-profile court case in Colorado included the service of MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. It happened during an appearance at a rally held in Denver on April 4th 2022. He was served during an “Election Truth” rally held at the Colorado State Capitol. The exchange was caught on camera by 9News. The clip, which was posted on Twitter by 9News journalist Marshall Zelinger, soon went viral. It’s since been viewed on Twitter alone nearly 400,000 times.
Lindell, and his companies, FrankSpeech and My Pillow, are being sued for defamation by Eric Coomer, a former vice president at Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems and resident of Salida, Colorado. Coomer says Lindell targeted him and defiled his character with false election fraud claims surrounding Dominion’s voting machines. Coomer is represented by the law firm of Cain & Skarnulis, which has offices in both Salida and Austin, Texas.
The process server who gave the papers to Lindell as he walked in front of the Capitol steps says blending in with the crowd is often the key to getting a difficult service job done.
“What I personally think is important is being able to fit in,” said the unnamed process server. “The crowd where I went…there’s a certain assumption that maybe [as a minority]…I wouldn’t be received well there.” But, he says, he dressed to the occasion and did his best to fit in.
“Had I been just some guy that didn’t look like [other attendees], especially on a high-profile case like this, I never would have been able to get that close,” the process server said.
In the three hours he was there before the rally, the process server said he was well-received by others in the crowd. But that changed once they realized he was there to serve Lindell with legal documents. Lindell was surrounded by extensive security at the event, but when he started walking, the process server was able to walk right next to him, and he was able to successfully hand him the envelope containing the subpoena.
The process server then made a quick exit and left the scene before the people he had befriended before and during the event could identify or pursue him. He says it’s important for process servers to rely on their “spidey senses” when deciding whether it’s time to abandon a service. He’s worked on several other high profile cases and they haven’t always worked out. He says it’s better to be safe than sorry and try another time or approach.
Other tips for staying safe while working as a process server include:
- Collect as much information as possible about the person being served.
- Have an exit plan.
- Never enter a residence.
- Consider serving the papers in a public place or unexpected location.
- Remain calm, understanding those being served may be highly emotional or volatile.
