Don Lemon particulars LA arrest with Jimmy Kimmel

[ad_1] NEW Now you can take heed to Fox Information articles!

Former CNN host Don Lemon make clear how his arrest over the Minnesota church storming transpired throughout an interview Monday with ABC's Jimmy Kimmel .

Lemon started by revealing that his lawyer Abbe Lowell had reached out to the Justice Division previous to the arrest to debate his shopper turning himself in as high DOJ officers spoke brazenly about searching for costs in opposition to him, however that Lowell "by no means heard again."

He then provided a timeline of what had transpired late Thursday evening main as much as his arrest, how he had attended pre-Grammy occasions and that it wasn't till he obtained again to his resort in Los Angeles that he was accosted by federal brokers.

"I press the elevator button after which unexpectedly, I really feel myself being jostled and folks making an attempt to seize me and put me in handcuffs," Lemon stated. "And I stated, ‘What are you doing right here?' They stated, ‘We got here to arrest you.’ I stated, ‘Who're you?’ After which they, like, lastly identification themselves."

DON LEMON RELEASED FROM CUSTODY AFTER LA COURT APPEARANCE

Ex-CNN host Don Lemon recalled his arrest in Los Angeles throughout his look on "Jimmy Kimmel Reside!" on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (Screenshot/ABC)

The ex-CNN star then stated he then demanded to see a warrant, which the brokers who grabbed him did not have, so he stated they needed to "wait" for an FBI agent from outdoors to deliver a replica of the warrant on a cellphone.

"It needed to be possibly a dozen individuals, which is a waste, Jimmy, of assets," Lemon informed Kimmel. "As a result of I had informed them weeks earlier than, possibly a few times… that I might simply go in and so they did not must be — the oldsters that have been simply working there that day and so they did not must have all of those individuals following me round."

"It is greater than only a waste of assets," Kimmel reacted.

"You are proper about greater than only a waste of assets," Lemon responded. "They need that. They wish to embarrass you. They wish to intimidate you. They wish to instill concern, and in order that's why they did it that method."

DON LEMON'S LENGTHY HISTORY OF ANTI-ICE RHETORIC

Lemon was arrested and charged Friday with conspiracy to deprive rights and violation of the FACE Act for his involvement within the anti-ICE protest that disrupted providers at a Minnesota church.

Lemon went viral final month for livestreaming left-wing agitators who stormed St. Paul's Cities Church throughout Sunday providers. Lemon has maintained he was there as a journalist, not as a protester. Within the indictment, nonetheless, the DOJ accuses him of coordinating with the protest organizers earlier than they arrived on the church.

Don Lemon went viral for livestreaming protection of an anti-ICE protest at St. Paul's Cities Church. (Don Lemon/YouTube)

"I've spent my whole profession masking the information. I can't cease now," Lemon informed reporters outdoors the courthouse on Friday. "There isn't a extra essential time than proper now, this very second, for a free and unbiased media that shines a lightweight on the reality and holds these accountable. And I can't cease now. I can't cease ever.

"Final evening, the DOJ despatched a staff of federal brokers to arrest me in the midst of the evening for one thing that I have been doing for the final 30 years. And that's masking the information. The First Modification of the Structure protects that work for me and for numerous different journalists who do what I do. I stand with all of them, and I can't be silenced. I stay up for my day in court docket."

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST MEDIA AND CULTURE NEWS

Don Lemon speaks to the media after a listening to on the Edward R. Roybal Federal Courthouse in Los Angeles on January 30, 2026. (Patrick T. Fallon / AFP by way of Getty Photos)

A federal Justice of the Peace choose beforehand rejected the Justice Division’s preliminary try and deliver costs in opposition to Lemon. The DOJ then sought an indictment from a Minnesota grand jury.

Previous to the arrest, Lemon dared the Trump administration to make him "into the brand new Jimmy Kimmel."

Kimmel, a fierce Trump critic, was briefly suspended by ABC final 12 months following his remarks concerning the alleged killer of Charlie Kirk that caught the eye of the Federal Communications Fee. Like Kimmel, Lemon has change into a liberal folks hero for his combating with the Trump administration.

Lemon's subsequent court docket look is scheduled for Feb. 9 in Minneapolis.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox Information Digital. Story ideas will be despatched to joseph.wulfsohn@fox.com and on Twitter: @JosephWulfsohn.