Ousted CNN anchor Don Lemon took his grievances on the road this week, landing on Jimmy Kimmel Live to argue that his recent arrest was not about evidence or due process, but part of a broader campaign of “intimidation” allegedly orchestrated by President Donald Trump’s Justice Department.
The Monday night appearance quickly turned into a friendly showcase, with Kimmel playing the role of advocate rather than skeptic. The ABC host carefully avoided airing video footage that appears to show Lemon coordinating with protest organizers before entering the church at the center of the incident. Instead, Kimmel repeatedly framed Lemon as a journalist who just happened to be present, a neutral observer swept up in events beyond his control.
Jimmy Kimmel introduces Don Lemon as “a longtime TV and digital newsman who on Thursday night was arrested for committing journalism, which is a very serious crime under our current administration.” pic.twitter.com/yhtIC1tNNh
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) February 3, 2026
Lemon eagerly reinforced that narrative. “I’m not a protester,” he told the audience, stressing that he was there strictly in a journalistic capacity. The distinction was repeated often, as if repetition alone could settle the question.
From there, the conversation escalated. Lemon and Kimmel suggested that the Justice Department had effectively crowdsourced the decision to arrest him, taking cues from right-leaning social media accounts rather than weighing evidence. Lemon also complained that he was not given the courtesy of quietly surrendering to authorities, implying that the public nature of the arrest was itself proof of political motive.
The segment then turned to the judges who initially declined to sign off on an arrest warrant. Lemon and Kimmel leaned heavily on those refusals, portraying them as evidence that the case was flimsy from the start. What went unmentioned was the fact that a grand jury later found probable cause to indict Lemon, and that at least one judge ultimately agreed that the legal threshold had been met.
DON LEMON SAYS FEDS ARRESTED HIM TO ‘EMBARRASS’ HIM: ‘The View’ co-hosts weigh in after the journalist appeared on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ Monday where he detailed his arrest in Los Angeles over the weekend. pic.twitter.com/ApkvuAMaKz
— The View (@TheView) February 3, 2026
Lemon further blurred the issue by casting doubt on the legitimacy of the indictment process itself. He suggested that prosecutors could write “whatever they want” in an indictment without fear of consequences if the claims were untrue, a remark that downplayed the role of grand juries and the evidentiary standards they are meant to uphold.
According to Lemon, the days leading up to his arrest were marked by fear that the Trump administration would “go around” a judge or even “retrofit” laws to target him specifically. Despite those concerns, he claimed he was never worried about ending up behind bars and vowed to become even more outspoken in response to what he characterized as government overreach.
Don Lemon tells Jimmy Kimmel he offered to self-report/turn himself into the DOJ, but heard nothing.
Instead, they came for him at a Grammys Week event. pic.twitter.com/DYrmatTuNI
— LateNighter (@latenightercom) February 3, 2026
President Donald Trump addressed the situation briefly over the weekend while aboard Air Force One. The president acknowledged that he does not like Lemon, but said he had no prior knowledge of any plans to arrest him before they were carried out, distancing himself from the narrative of a personally directed takedown.
For viewers, the Kimmel appearance offered a tightly controlled version of events, one that framed Lemon as a victim of political persecution while sidestepping inconvenient details about the indictment and the legal process that led to his arrest.
The post Lemon Appears On Kimmel To Discusses Arrest appeared first on Red Right Patriot.
