Election deniers spread misinformation at hundreds of grassroots events after Jan. 6

NPR tracked four key influencers as they traveled the country, spreading the false narrative that there was rampant fraud in the 2020 election. The men appeared at at least 308 events in 45 states and the District of Columbia, often with elected officials, candidates and grassroots organizations.

Jan. 6, 2021 - June 30, 2022
  • Appeared in at least 44 events in 19 states
  • Lindell is the CEO of MyPillow and a longtime Trump supporter. He is based in Minnesota and claims to have spent $25 million to prove the election was stolen. Lindell is being sued for defamation by Dominion Voting Systems, along with Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell.
  • Appeared in at least 138 events in 29 states
  • Frank, often called “Dr. Frank,” is a former math and science teacher from Ohio. Frank connected with Lindell in March of 2021 and became a regular on the “election integrity” circuit.
  • Appeared in at least 63 events in 25 states
  • Clements is a former business law professor from New Mexico. He was fired for not complying with New Mexico State University’s COVID-19 safety policies.
  • Appeared in at least 129 events in 37 states
  • Seth Keshel is a former Army intelligence officer who deployed to Afghanistan. Keshel shares his commentary on voter registration and vote totals under the nickname “Captain K.” He is based in Texas.

Notes

NPR tracked Lindell, Frank, Keshel and Clements based on events advertised on their public social media accounts, the websites and social media accounts of local organizations, events NPR attended, video footage and news reports. Dots represent one person’s appearance at an event. A small number of events reflect a remote appearance. For multi-day events, NPR noted only the first day of the event.