The United States government, at the behest of Donald Trump, chose political revenge theater over protocol when arresting former CNN news anchor and now-independent journalist Don Lemon.
Journalists are still reeling and repulsed by the idea that Lemon would be put in handcuffs and charged with a felony for chronicling a political uprising in Minnesota in the wake of the Alex Pretti and Renee Good killings at the hands of masked ICE agents. Reporting on these events and interviewing people is foundational journalism. Still, the Trump administration appears far more interested in attacking the president’s perceived enemies and intimidating the press than actually doing things to help Americans.
Last night, Lemon appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, another former victim of Trump’s mob-rule regime, to talk about the arrest and the surrounding circumstances.
According to NBC News, Lemon revealed that he offered to turn himself in once he realized that he was going to be arrested; however, he says that his lawyer never received a response from federal law enforcement.
“They want to embarrass you,” he told the late-night host. “They want to intimidate you. They want to instill fear.”
Lemon also repeated to Kimmel what he said to interviewees at Cities Church multiple times.
“I went there to chronicle and document and record,” Lemon told Kimmel. “There is a difference between a protester and a journalist.”
We’ll remind you that TWO judges denied authorities a warrant for Lemon’s arrest because the case was so flimsy, and it was obvious that this was a play to target a journalist for doing his job.
The FBI was only able to obtain a warrant after circumventing the judges’ rulings by calling a grand jury. There’s no telling what prosecutors said to that jury or what type of people comprised it, but the Trump administration simply has not earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to fairness.
