Don Lemon released on charges of protesting in Minnesota
Former CNN anchor Don Lemon has been charged in connection with a protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Don Lemon is speaking out about what he calls an “embarrassing” effort after he was arrested after covering a protest inside a church in Minnesota.
The former CNN broadcaster, 59, was arrested on Friday, Jan. 30, weeks after covering a protest inside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement church, according to the New York Times and CBS News. In his first interview since his arrest, the independent journalist reflected on his detention during an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Monday, Feb. 2.
“There should have been probably a dozen people,” Lemon said, recalling the moment he was arrested in Los Angeles. “We had told them weeks earlier that they could just go in, so it’s a waste of resources.” He added: “That’s what they want to do. They want to embarrass you. They want to intimidate you. They want to instill fear. That’s why they did it.”
Introducing the interview, host Jimmy Kimmel told viewers that Lemon was “arrested for committing a journalistic crime, which is a very serious crime under this administration.” When the host asked how Lemon was doing, the journalist said he wasn’t sure. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’m fine. I’m not going to let them steal my joy. But this is very serious.”
After appearing in court on Friday, the former broadcaster told media that federal agents from the Department of Justice arrested him in “the middle of the night” for “what I’ve been doing for 30 years, which is reporting the news.” He added, “Protesting the First Amendment is valid for me and countless other journalists. I stand with them all and will not be silent.”
He then attended Sunday night’s Grammy Awards ceremony, but did not report on the ceremony.
Lemon was one of several reporters who attended the protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. During his interview at the epicenter of the arrest, he streamed nearly seven hours on his YouTube channel, speaking with members of his congregation, protesters and one of the church’s pastors. At one point during the livestream, Lemon said, “I’m going to be as respectful as possible. I’m not here to intimidate anyone. I’m just here to go on the record and get answers.”
Why was Don Lemon arrested?
A federal indictment unsealed Friday charges Lemon, another journalist, Georgia Fort, and several activists who attended the protest at the church with multiple counts of interfering with religious freedom at a place of worship.
CNN, Reuters and CBS News reported on January 22, citing unnamed sources, that a federal judge had previously rejected criminal charges proposed by the Justice Department against Lemon on charges related to the protests.
Don Lemon tells Jimmy Kimmel he has turned himself in.
During his interview with Kimmel, Lemon said he could not say much about the situation amid ongoing legal proceedings, but said he was “not a protester” and went to the protests “to be a journalist.” He also said his lawyer told prosecutors he was “absolutely willing” to turn himself in and avoid “this whole fraud,” but “there was no response.”
“People who are accused of much worse things than I am accused of are allowed to turn themselves in out of courtesy,” he said.
Don Lemon says prison showed him CNN coverage of his arrest
Lemon also said that while he was in custody, he had “no idea” how big of a story his arrest would be, but that he had a hunch after seeing it covered on his former network.
“I asked to go to the bathroom early in the morning,” the man said. “…I went outside, and they opened the door to the room where the agents were being held, and there was CNN on the monitor, and it said, ‘Former CNN anchor Don Lemon arrested in Los Angeles.'” So I said to the guy, “Is that common?” He said, “You’ve been working all morning.” This is a big deal. ”
Contributors: Melina Khan and Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY
