Don Lemon makes post-arrest appearance on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!': 'They want to instill fear'

Making his archetypal large post-arrest tv interrogation Monday connected “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” Don Lemon elaborate the moments surrounding his incarceration and his acquisition arsenic a writer becoming the halfway of a quality story.

“There’s a batch that I cannot say,” Lemon told Kimmel. “But what I volition accidental is that I’m not a protester. I went determination to beryllium a journalist. I went determination to chronicle and papers and grounds what was happening ... I bash deliberation that determination is simply a quality betwixt a protester and a journalist.”

The quality arrived little than a week aft the erstwhile CNN anchor — present an autarkic writer who hosts a YouTube amusement — was arrested by national agents successful Los Angeles pursuing his sum of an anti-ICE protestation astatine a Minnesota religion earlier this month. Lemon, 59, was released without enslaved Friday and is expected to plead not guilty, according to his attorneys.

On Monday’s show, Kimmel began the speech by asking Lemon however helium was feeling: “I don’t cognize — that’s an honorable answer,” Lemon said. “I’m OK. I’m not going to fto them bargain my joy, but this is precise serious. These are national transgression charges.”

Lemon was arrested — on with 3 others successful attendance astatine the protestation — astatine the absorption of Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi, who said connected X that it was successful transportation to what she described arsenic a “coordinated attack” connected the church, located successful St. Paul. Lemon is charged with conspiracy to deprive the religion congregants of their rights and interfering by unit with someone’s First Amendment rights. Lemon has denied participating successful the protestation astatine the religion — assembled to decry that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement tract serviceman seemingly serves arsenic a pastor determination — saying helium was contiguous successful a journalistic capacity.

Playfully acknowledging that helium hasn’t been a favourite of President Trump’s since his clip connected CNN, Lemon said helium hadn’t been acrophobic astir his imaginable apprehension — adjacent with a re-post by Trump calling for it — until it gained steam by members of Trump’s cabinet, including Bondi and Todd Blanche, the U.S. lawman lawyer general. Lemon said that aft retaining a lawyer and volunteering to crook himself successful to grip the substance without fanfare, helium “never heard backmost from them.”

“That is customary successful a concern similar this, that idiosyncratic would beryllium allowed to crook themselves in,” Lemon said. “People who are who are accused of overmuch worse things than I americium accused of doing, they are allowed the courtesy. I mean, Donald Trump was allowed the courtesy to crook himself successful ...”

Lemon went connected to item the moments starring up to his apprehension Thursday, which came aft a nighttime of covering a Grammys lawsuit for the Black Music Collective and attending a post-party celebration.

“I got backmost to the hotel, I walked successful with my swag container from the happening ... and I pressed the elevator fastener and each of a abrupt I consciousness myself being jostled, radical trying to drawback maine and enactment maine successful handcuffs,” helium recounted. “And I said, ‘What are you doing here?’ And they said, ‘We came to apprehension you.’ I said, ‘Who are you?’ Then yet they identified themselves. And I said, ‘If you are who you are, past where’s the warrant?’ And they didn’t person a warrant, truthful they had to hold for the idiosyncratic from outside, an FBI guy, to travel successful to amusement maine a warrant connected a compartment telephone ... They took maine extracurricular FBI guys were retired there. It had to beryllium possibly a twelve people, which is simply a waste, Jimmy, of resources ... They privation to embarrass you. They privation to intimidate you. They privation to instill fear.”

He said helium hadn’t realized however overmuch attraction his apprehension had generated until helium saw CNN broadcasting the communicative connected a TV show wherever helium was being held.

“I could spot ‘Former CNN anchor Don Lemon arrested successful Los Angeles,’” helium said. “I said to the guy, ‘Is that happening a lot?’ He goes, ‘You’ve been connected each morning, yeah. And helium says, ‘This is simply a large deal.’”

During the conversation, Kimmel criticized what helium felt was a deficiency of attraction to the caller hunt by FBI agents of the location of a Washington Post newsman who covers the national government. Lemon, who parted ways with CNN successful 2023, attributed it to a fearfulness among the leaders of firm property enterprises.

“Corporate media has been neutered close now. They are afraid, and that’s the crushed I’m truthful blessed with what I do, due to the fact that I’m person to the ground,” helium said. “This is not clip for folly. It’s not clip for mendacious equivalence, and putting radical connected tv and connected quality programs, giving them a platform, who travel connected conscionable to lie. .... Some things are objectively atrocious and I deliberation its important successful this clip to constituent that out.”

Lemon hitting the late-night circuit intensifies its spotlight arsenic a free-speech battleground. The Trump epoch has prompted much pointed and passionate takes from astir of the large hosts that, successful turn, person captured the attraction and ire of the president, who has provoked threats against them and their broadcasters.

Last year, CBS announced it was canceling “The Late Show” aft a three-decade tally — a determination the institution attributed to fiscal reasons and not, arsenic galore person speculated, due to the fact that of big Stephen Colbert’s disapproval of a colony betwixt the Trump medication and Paramount, the genitor institution of CBS, implicit a 2024 “60 Minutes” interrogation with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

More recently, Kimmel faced a little suspension past autumn implicit comments regarding the sidesplitting of right-wing activistic and influencer Charlie Kirk (ABC yet reinstated Kimmel pursuing nationalist backlash.) In fact, Lemon referenced that concern anterior to his arrest, erstwhile a justice dismissed prosectors’ archetypal charging effort: “This is not a triumph thigh for maine due to the fact that it’s not over. They’re gonna effort again,” Lemon told his followers connected his YouTube amusement aft the judge’s ruling. “Go ahead, marque maine into the caller Jimmy Kimmel, if you want.”

Last Friday, addressing a assemblage extracurricular the courthouse upon his release, Lemon said, “There is nary much important clip than close now, this precise moment, for a escaped and autarkic media that shines a airy connected the information and holds those successful powerfulness accountable. I volition not halt now, I volition not halt ever.”