Don Lemon Says He Was Detained To ‘Embarrass’ Him
by Jeroslyn JoVonn
February 3, 2026
Don Lemon called his arrest an attempt to “embarrass” him after offering to surrender.
Don Lemon says his arrest by federal agents was meant to “embarrass” him, claiming the Trump administration ignored his offer to turn himself in days earlier.
Lemon appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Feb. 2 and recounted his recent arrest at the Beverly Hills Hotel while covering the Grammys. The former CNN anchor said that after learning he had been charged over his coverage of a protest that disrupted a church service in St. Paul, his lawyer offered for him to turn himself in but “never heard back.”
Lemon said roughly a dozen law enforcement officers later arrested him, and thinks it was done in an attempt to publicly shame him.
“They want to embarrass you,” he told the late-night host. “They want to intimidate you. They want to instill fear.”
Lemon told Kimmel he hired an attorney after Trump, whom he has publicly clashed with in the past, and administration officials called for his arrest over the anti-ICE church protest. He said federal agents later arrived at his hotel to take him into custody, claiming they did not present a physical warrant and instead showed him an image of one on an agent’s cellphone as he was escorted outside.
Now, after his release, not on bail and ahead of his scheduled court appearance, Lemon calls his arrest, and that of other journalists who were present to film the protest, a “Waste, Jimmy, of resources.”
Lemon said he was held in a room for more than 12 hours, unaware his arrest had become national news, until a federal employee told him he had been airing nonstop on CNN. He alleged that during that time, he was denied phone calls and contact with his lawyer or anyone outside, despite standards that generally prohibit holding detainees incommunicado.
The journalist’s arrest came weeks after he covered protesters who entered Cities Church in St. Paul to oppose pastor David Easterwood, who also serves as Minnesota’s ICE field office director.
Lemon has insisted he was there solely in his capacity as a journalist and did not participate in the protest.
“I went there to chronicle and document and record,” Lemon told Kimmel. “There is a difference between a protester and a journalist.”
The criminal complaint alleges Lemon acknowledged the protest’s civil disobedience and attended a planning meeting beforehand. A federal magistrate judge initially rejected the complaint, finding no probable cause, a decision that reportedly angered US Attorney General Pam Bondi.
A day before Lemon’s arrest, a Minnesota grand jury indicted him and eight others, including three Black journalists who covered the protest. Lemon faces federal charges tied to interfering with religious freedom at a place of worship and has said he will plead not guilty. His next court appearance is set for Feb. 9 in Minneapolis.
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