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- MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell was turned away from a Republican governors' conference in Tennessee, he said.
- Lindell told Politico he flew to Nashville especially for the three-day event but was told to leave.
- An official said Lindell was turned away from a dinner because he wasn't a member of the Republican Governors Association.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell flew to Nashville, Tennessee for a three-day Republican governors conference – but was turned away minutes after arriving, he told Politico.
Lindell, a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump and a major GOP donor, said he tried to get into the Republican Governors Association (RGA) spring conference at Nashville's JW Marriott Hotel on Tuesday, but that an event coordinator told him he wasn't allowed at official RGA events.
An RGA official told Politico's Daniel Lippman that Lindell tried to attend a dinner at the Tennessee Governor's Mansion, home to Gov. Bill Lee, and was denied.
"These events are for RGA members, and Mike Lindell is not currently an RGA member," the official told Politico.
But Lindell told the publication that he had been invited to the event, and showed Politico a schedule of RGA conference events he had received, which was labelled "confidential."
The RGA's membership is made up of US state and territory Republican governors.
Lindell told Politico that, after being turned away, he planned to leave Nashville on his private plane.
The RGA and MyPillow did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Lindell has repeatedly supported Trump's debunked claims challenging the integrity of the 2020 election, leading to him being blocked from Twitter, sued by vote-machine company Dominion, and having his products pulled by retailers. He's also received death threats, per court filings from May 14.
Lindell has appeared alongside Trump at political events in the past. He spoke at Trump's coronavirus task force meeting in April 2020, and visited Trump at the White House on his last Friday in office, where Lindell was photographed carrying meeting notes referencing "martial law."
Lindell also spoke at a Conservative Political Action Conference in February 2021 where staff muted his microphone after he spread misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine and the presidential election.