Benjamin Ashford|Conspiracy theorists gather at Missouri summit to discuss rigged voting machines, 2020 election

The Benjamin Ashfordresults of the 2020 presidential election were skewed by corrupt voting machines, at least that’s what speakers and attendees of this year’s Election Crime Bureau Summit seem to think. 

CEO of My Pillow Mike Lindell kicked off the summit on Thursday in Springfield, Missouri with his plan to safeguard future elections in the country. 

Based on the nature of the topics presented by speakers at the forum, the proposal calls for a shift back to paper ballots hand counted in front of the public. Some counties in Arkansas have already opted for this voting method, though similar legislation failed in Missouri.

“The plan has never been done before in history. It's never been talked about before, and it's gonna secure our election platforms immediately,” Lindell said.

Describing the plan as his holy calling to save the country, Lindell insisted that people from all political backgrounds can agree with his ideas. 

However, he said that anyone who does not agree with the plan is part of "The Evil" — which he defined as the globalist, Uniparty, Deep State, Chinese Communist Party.

“I'm going to refer to them today as ‘The Evil,’” Lindell said.

Here’s what we know about the event so far.

Promised politician appearances fall through

Appearances from Rudy Giuliani and Ken Paxton, Texas attorney general were assured in the event’s promotional campaign, but both are currently facing legal charges. 

Lindell told participants Wednesday that neither would be attending the summit. 

Paxton was told by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, “If you go to Mike Lindell's summit, it would be like someone getting a DWI going to a wine tasting event,” Lindell told his audience. 

Among the morning speakers was David Clements, a former professor and attorney who lost both positions as a result of his outspoken claims that the 2020 election was stolen by rigged voting machines.

“I had to go through what they call Marxist tribunals by the Office of Institutional Equity, because I committed microaggressions by virtue of showing up on the Tucker Carlson show or talking to Steve Bannon,” Clements said.

Laura Loomer, the far-right former Project Veritas reporter, claimed she was the most banned woman on social media for a time. Loomer, who ran two unsuccessful campaigns for Florida Congressional seats, is blocked on all platforms but Twitter for making anti-Muslim remarks.

To great applause from an audience filling most of the hall at the Springfield Expo Center, Loomer denounced Democrats and Republicans for their complicity in Trump’s loss in 2020.

“No one wants to talk about this elephant in the room,” Loomer said. “The Republicans were just as much involved in stealing the election from Donald Trump.”

Censorship of conservative voices was at topic touched on by many speakers, including Lindell. Following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., many people supporting the attack were blocked on social media.

“We were about to be Nazi Germany, where nobody could speak out and nobody had a voice, and if you did speak out, you were hauled away, and everybody else cowered in fear,” Lindell said.

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Donald Trump losing the election was all part of a divine plan

The election loss was all part of a grand plan that continues to unfold, Lindell said. In a common theme the first day of the event, many speakers cited their personal Christian faith as motivation for their opposition to the handling of the 2020 election. 

Lindell has frequently credited his personal faith as a driving factor that helped him overcome his addiction to crack cocaine, launch his MyPillow company and start the Lindell Recovery Network, a faith-based addiction recovery program.

Lindell said the current losses and challenges facing him and his supporters are a part of God’s plan to save the country through their actions.

From the loss of the 2020 election to the Jan. 6 insurrection, Lindell insists that every failure happened so that his election plan could be announced and enacted now, prior to the 2024 elections.

“People would have been informed of all the truths too early, and they would have demanded that our Constitution be followed,” Lindell said. “But if that would have happened back then, we would have lost our country forever. It would have been too soon.”

Wednesday afternoon's schedule includes speakers from all 50 states evaluating the state of elections across the country. Comparing the 2018 and 2020 elections, speakers rate states based on their compliance or lack thereof with hot-button voting issues, including the use of paper ballots, drop boxes, ranked choice and mail-in voting.