Don Lemon used a high-profile LGBT advocacy gala in New York to cast his recent arrest as part of a long tradition of civil rights struggle, even as critics question both the comparison and the underlying protest tactics.
Speaking at the Human Rights Campaigns 2026 Greater New York dinner, the former CNN anchor framed his legal troubles as a test of personal liberty and professional duty. According to Fox News, Lemon addressed the crowd days after being arrested and released in connection with an anti-immigration enforcement demonstration at a Minnesota church, where activists targeted federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.
"So last week, I felt the weight of that truth in a very, very personal way," Lemon told attendees, describing his brief detention as a chilling reminder of state power. "Can you imagine the state having control of your freedom simply because they don't like that you are doing your job? So that was very frightening to me."
Lemon went on to place his experience alongside some of the most consequential battles in American civil rights history, invoking both the Black civil rights movement and the gay rights struggle. "But in my time when I was there, I thought about all the people who come before me. I thought about all of the people who fought for civil rights who fought for gay rights, all of the people who were at Stonewall, [Marsha P. Johnson]. I'm like, yes, those are the people, those are the real heroes. And so whats happening to me, I have at least in this time that Im living now more agency, more resources, more rights than I hope than the people who were fighting for our freedom and our civil rights."
Even as he aligned himself rhetorically with protest movements, Lemon insisted that he does not see himself as an activist. He stressed that his identity remains rooted in journalism, despite his participation in a demonstration that drew federal charges.
"I saw how fast a story can be turned into a warning. But I'm not an activist. I'm not a protester. I am a journalist. And my calling is not to shout, but my calling is to witness. And that's what they're afraid of, of that witness to tell," Lemon said, suggesting that authorities fear his ability to document and narrate events. Fox News Digital reported that it reached out to Lemon for additional comment.
Prosecutors have charged Lemon with conspiracy to deprive rights and a violation of the federal FACE Act, statutes often used in cases involving interference with access to certain facilities. The charges stem from his alleged role in a protest targeting ICE at St. Pauls Cities Church last month, though he was released without bail on Jan. 30.
In a subsequent Substack essay, Lemon elevated his personal narrative further by aligning himself with towering figures of the Black intellectual and civil rights tradition.
"James Baldwin understood that clarity carries consequences. Dr. King knew that truth invites punishment. Malcolm X saw that systems built on hierarchy will always attempt to silence those who name them. And as voices in the Black prophetic tradition have long warned, truth that threatens power will be met with the full force of authority. And I have felt that force in my own life," he wrote, casting his confrontation with federal law enforcement as part of a broader struggle over speech, power and dissent.
Login