Don Lemon has recently appeared on the Jimmy Kimmel show, where he opened up about his arrest last week. He was taken into custody after covering an anti-ICE protest at a church in Minnesota on January 18. The former CNN anchor and journalist discussed the incident during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Monday.
Don Lemon appears on Jimmy Kimmel’s show
Federal law enforcement arrested Don Lemon on January 29, 2026, for reporting on an anti-ICE protest in Minnesota last month. Authorities released him without bond the following day. Speaking with Jimmy Kimmel on his show, the television journalist shared that he was doing “OK” after the arrest, but noted the seriousness of the situation.
He declared, “I’m not going to let them steal my joy, but this is very serious. I mean, these are federal criminal charges.” During the interview, Kimmel asked Lemon, “Is there a difference between whether those protesters had the right to go into a church and whether a credentialed journalist like yourself had the right to go in and cover them going into the church?”
Lemon responded, “I’m in the middle of this, so I can’t say a lot.” He added, “There’s a lot that I cannot say, but what I will say is that I’m not a protester. I went there to be a journalist. I went there to chronicle, document, and record what was happening.” He added, “I was following that one group around. And so that’s what I did. I reported on them. But I do think that there is a difference between a protester and a journalist.”
The journalist went on to detail his experience of the arrest, revealing that he didn’t immediately get to make a phone call. “I asked them, ‘Do I get my one phone call?’ They said, ‘No, you don’t. You get to talk to your attorney whenever the court says that you can.’ And so that wasn’t until the next day,” Lemon shared.
He also expressed his gratitude for all the support he has been receiving following the incident. The former CNN host then thanked “everybody for all of their support, especially the journalists, especially the people out there.” He added, “I mean, it’s been amazing just walking down the street or wherever I am, and people will say, ‘It’s good to see you.’ I said, ‘Yeah, it’s good to be seen,’ but it’s a lot of support.”
