![\"Don](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/donlemonkimmel1200.jpg\")
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Don Lemon<\/a> will bring his first major post-arrest television interview to Jimmy Kimmel Live!<\/a> on Monday night.<\/p>\n The booking was announced Sunday by host Jimmy Kimmel himself, who revealed on social media<\/a> that Lemon would be his guest\u2014bringing the journalist\u2019s legal fight directly into the late-night spotlight.<\/p>\n The appearance will come four days after the former CNN anchor\u2014now an independent journalist\u2014was 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI have spent my entire career covering the news. I will not stop now,\u201d Lemon said in his first public remarks after his arrest. \u201cI look forward to my day in court.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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 \u201ccoordinated attack\u201d 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Lemon himself has framed his situation through a late-night lens. In comments made before his arrest\u2014after a judge dismissed prosecutors\u2019 initial charging effort\u2014he likened the government\u2019s actions against him to its role in the lead-up to Kimmel\u2019s brief suspension<\/a> last fall. <\/p>\n \u201cThis is not a victory lap for me, because it\u2019s not over. They\u2019re gonna try again,\u201d Lemon told followers on Instagram after the judge\u2019s ruling. \u201cGo ahead, make me into the new Jimmy Kimmel, if you want.\u201d<\/p>\n ABC ultimately reinstated Kimmel<\/a> following a public backlash, and Jimmy Kimmel Live! returned with its highest ratings to date<\/a>.<\/p>\n Kimmel\u2019s other guests Monday include Alex Honnold, fresh off his Netflix Skyscraper Live climb, and musical guest Whitney. <\/p>\n Visit our\u00a0lineups area<\/a>\u00a0for updated guest listings for all the late-night shows, and\u00a0subscribe to our newsletter<\/a>\u00a0to get stories like this in your inbox.<\/p>\n \t\t\t