Making his first major post-arrest television interview Monday on โJimmy Kimmel Live!,โ Don Lemon detailed the moments surrounding his incarceration and his experience as a journalist becoming the center of a news story.
โThereโs a lot that I cannot say,โ Lemon told Kimmel. โBut what I will say is that Iโm not a protester. I went there to be a journalist. I went there to chronicle and document and record what was happening … I do think that there is a difference between a protester and a journalist.โ
The appearance arrived less than a week after the former CNN anchor โ now an independent journalist who hosts a YouTube show โ was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles following his coverage of an anti-ICE protest at a Minnesota church earlier this month. Lemon, 59, was released without bond Friday and is expected to plead not guilty, according to his attorneys.
On Mondayโs show, Kimmel began the conversation by asking Lemon how he was feeling: โI donโt know โ thatโs an honest answer,โ Lemon said. โIโm OK. Iโm not going to let them steal my joy, but this is very serious. These are federal criminal charges.โ
Lemon was arrested โ along with three others in attendance at the protest โ at the direction of Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi, who said on X that it was in connection to what she described as a โcoordinated attackโ on the church, located in St. Paul. Lemon is charged with conspiracy to deprive the church congregants of their rights and interfering by force with someoneโs First Amendment rights. Lemon has denied participating in the protest at the church โ assembled to decry that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field officer apparently serves as a pastor there โ saying he was present in a journalistic capacity.
Playfully acknowledging that he hasnโt been a favorite of President Trumpโs since his time on CNN, Lemon said he hadnโt been concerned about his possible arrest โ even with a re-post by Trump calling for it โ until it gained steam by members of Trumpโs cabinet, including Bondi and Todd Blanche, the U.S. deputy attorney general. Lemon said that after retaining a lawyer and volunteering to turn himself in to handle the matter without fanfare, he โnever heard back from them.โ
โThat is customary in a situation like this, that someone would be allowed to turn themselves in,โ Lemon said. โPeople who are who are accused of much worse things than I am accused of doing, they are allowed the courtesy. I mean, Donald Trump was allowed the courtesy to turn himself in …โ
Lemon went on to detail the moments leading up to his arrest Thursday, which came after a night of covering a Grammys event for the Black Music Collective and attending a post-party celebration.
โI got back to the hotel, I walked in with my swag bag from the thing … and I pressed the elevator button and all of a sudden I feel myself being jostled, people trying to grab me and put me in handcuffs,โ he recounted. โAnd I said, โWhat are you doing here?โ And they said, โWe came to arrest you.โ I said, โWho are you?โ Then finally they identified themselves. And I said, โIf you are who you are, then whereโs the warrant?โ And they didnโt have a warrant, so they had to wait for the someone from outside, an FBI guy, to come in to show me a warrant on a cell phone … They took me outside FBI guys were out there. It had to be maybe a dozen people, which is a waste, Jimmy, of resources … They want to embarrass you. They want to intimidate you. They want to instill fear.โ
He said he hadnโt realized how much attention his arrest had generated until he saw CNN broadcasting the story on a TV monitor where he was being held.
โI could see โFormer CNN anchor Don Lemon arrested in Los Angeles,โโ he said. โI said to the guy, โIs that happening a lot?โ He goes, โYouโve been on all morning, yeah. And he says, โThis is a big deal.โโ
During the conversation, Kimmel criticized what he felt was a lack of attention to the recent search by FBI agents of the home of a Washington Post reporter who covers the federal government. Lemon, who parted ways with CNN in 2023, attributed it to a fear among the leaders of corporate press enterprises.
โCorporate media has been neutered right now. They are afraid, and thatโs the reason Iโm so happy with what I do, because Iโm closer to the ground,โ he said. โThis is not time for folly. Itโs not time for false equivalence, and putting people on television and on news programs, giving them a platform, who come on just to lie. …. Some things are objectively bad and I think its important in this time to point that out.โ
Lemon hitting the late-night circuit intensifies its spotlight as a free-speech battleground. The Trump era has prompted more pointed and passionate takes from most of the major hosts that, in turn, have captured the attention and ire of the president, who has provoked threats against them and their broadcasters.
Last year, CBS announced it was canceling โThe Late Showโ after a three-decade run โ a decision the company attributed to financial reasons and not, as many have speculated, because of host Stephen Colbertโs criticism of a settlement between the Trump administration and Paramount, the parent company of CBS, over a 2024 โ60 Minutesโ interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
More recently, Kimmel faced a brief suspension last fall over comments regarding the killing of right-wing activist and influencer Charlie Kirk (ABC ultimately reinstated Kimmel following public backlash.) In fact, Lemon referenced that situation prior to his arrest, when a judge dismissed prosectorsโ initial charging effort: โThis is not a victory lap for me because itโs not over. Theyโre gonna try again,โ Lemon told his followers on his YouTube show after the judgeโs ruling. โGo ahead, make me into the new Jimmy Kimmel, if you want.โ
Last Friday, addressing a crowd outside the courthouse upon his release, Lemon said, โThere is no more important time than right now, this very moment, for a free and independent media that shines a light on the truth and holds those in power accountable. I will not stop now, I will not stop ever.โ