Photos: Randy Holmes/ABC
Don Lemon will bring his first major post-arrest television interview to Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Monday night.
The booking was announced Sunday by host Jimmy Kimmel himself, who revealed on social media that Lemon would be his guest—bringing the journalist’s legal fight directly into the late-night spotlight.
The appearance will come four days after the former CNN anchor—now an independent journalist—was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles following conservative backlash over his coverage of an anti-ICE protest at a St. Paul, Minnesota church earlier this month. Lemon was released without bond Friday evening.
“I have spent my entire career covering the news. I will not stop now,” Lemon said in his first public remarks after his arrest. “I look forward to my day in court.”
Federal prosecutors are pursuing charges under the FACE Act, a law intended to prohibit interference with people exercising their religious rights, according to a source familiar with the case. Lemon’s arrest was carried out at the direction of Attorney General Pam Bondi, who said on X that it was connected to what she described as a “coordinated attack” on the church. Lemon has denied participating in the protest, saying he was present solely as a journalist, and video from the scene shows Lemon repeatedly emphasizing his role as a reporter.
The case has drawn widespread condemnation from press freedom and civil rights organizations, including the NAACP, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the National Press Club, and the National Association of Black Journalists, all of which warned that arresting journalists for newsgathering poses a serious threat to press freedom.
Lemon himself has framed his situation through a late-night lens. In comments made before his arrest—after a judge dismissed prosecutors’ initial charging effort—he likened the government’s actions against him to its role in the lead-up to Kimmel’s brief suspension last fall.
“This is not a victory lap for me, because it’s not over. They’re gonna try again,” Lemon told followers on Instagram after the judge’s ruling. “Go ahead, make me into the new Jimmy Kimmel, if you want.”
ABC ultimately reinstated Kimmel following a public backlash, and Jimmy Kimmel Live! returned with its highest ratings to date.
Kimmel’s other guests Monday include Alex Honnold, fresh off his Netflix Skyscraper Live climb, and musical guest Whitney.
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