Don Lemon will bring his first major post-arrest television interview to Jimmy Kimmel Live! 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.
Visit our lineups area for updated guest listings for all the late-night shows, and subscribe to our newsletter to get stories like this in your inbox.
They can have a cry-off.
They have nothing to cry about!
But you do! Them living their lives gives losers, like you, a sad!
Don will fit in perfectly with Jimmy. They are both SELF-victims. One cannot “protest” in a church. I hope he spends at least one week in jail/prison.
They have nothing to be ashamed about! But you do! Supporting that criminal in the White House who’s desperately trying to distract from the Epstein files!
And only ignorant losers, who worship everything Drumpf does, would laugh at that!
Mucky Boy, down below!
They have a time and a place.
ICE can do the funniest thing ever….
Are you saying the 2.85 million illegals deported in one year from the US were all American citizens? As a dumb Canuck, how do you know this? Who’s going to get their face kicked in? Not by you, but probably by some brave Hispanic ICE agent….now that’s funny.
Kimmel should have interview with the actual victims of the case…the poor people in the church. How about Kimmel interviewing the poor woman who got her leg broken by these violent thus.
liberal “math.”
People are protesting for convicted illegal alien murderers and rapists? Yes, we call them losers. One of anti-ICE thugs tried to kill a ICE agent with an SUV and another with a loaded gun….luckily these evil people were defeated.
As for these losers protesting….1,500+ illegals were detained yesterday.
Check out deportation-tracker.com
1,500 illegals will be detained today…an all-time high.
So how is ICE doing? Pretti Good
No, impossible to get “hard” when it doesn’t happen when a person tries to run over minority ICE agents or kill them with a gun.
1,500+ detained nationally by ICE today…why don’t you stop them? Be a loser martyr like those two white fascists…Pretti and Good.
You’re welcome!
Nobody likes ICE, except white trailer trash losers, like you and Jons! They’re sweeping up innocent American citizens, even trying to snatch Native Americans because they wanna! Lookit the news, bitch! People are out in the streets protesting them, after the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by trigger happy thugs you think are heroes! And don’t give me your fucking shit about so many latinos in ICE! Who’d be dumb enough to sign up with those losers, except you and your Jons!
You mean capturing innocent legalized Americans and holding them in captivity for weeks or months, while murdering people who object to their fascist tactics?
Well then Mucky Boy, you should quit while you’re badly behind. Because MAGA losers like you, aren’t capable of having a sense of humor!
Got a problem with that, Mucky Boy? If so, cry harder for us,, you ignorant fuck hole!!!
Democrats are truly unbelievable. This was a CRIME. You cannot disrupt a house of worship. He helped plan it. Sorry but that’s a big no-no in this country. Imagine if a Tucker Carlson did this in a mosque or a synagogue, you fruity lunatics would burn down another hundred cities.
Nobody likes what your precious ICEholes are doing in Minneapolis! You don’t care about immigrants! You’re all about harassing and intimidating blue cities in blue states! Because your crybaby bitch Drumpf thinks they cheated him out of a victory!
You guys are gonna fall hard!