‘I Will Not Stop’: Defiant Don Lemon Rails Against His Arrest After Being Released

Former CNN host Don Lemon struck a defiant tone after being released from custody on Friday.

Overnight, federal agents arrested Lemon in Los Angeles after he covered a protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Jan. 18. During a service, demonstrators entered the church to protest one of its pastors, David Easterwood, who is reportedly acting director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in St. Paul. Protests against ICE and federal immigration agents have reached a fever pitch after agents shot and killed two people in the city this month.

The Department of Justice charged Lemon, who now hosts a YouTube show, with conspiracy to deprive the congregants of their right to worship. Lemon has pleaded not guilty. Three others, including independent journalist Georgia Fort, were also arrested. Fort livestreamed a masked agent at her door shortly before her arrest.

On Friday evening outside the federal courthouse in Los Angeles, Lemon spoke to a crowd of supporters:

I’ve spent my entire career covering the news. I will not stop now. In fact, there is no more important time than right now this very moment for a free and independent media that shines a light on the truth and holds those in power accountable.

Again, I will not stop now. I will not stop ever. Last night, the DOJ sent a team of federal agents to arrest me in the middle of the night for something that I’ve been doing for the last 30 years, and that is covering the news. The First Amendment of the Constitution protects that work for me and for countless other journalists who do what I do. I stand with all of them, and I will not be silenced. I look forward to my day in court.

Earlier in the day, Attorney General Pam Bondi took a victory lap after Lemon’s arrest.

“Make no mistake, under President Trump’s leadership and this administration, you have the right to worship freely and safely,” Bondi said. “And if I haven’t been clear already, if you violate that sacred right, we are coming after you.”

Watch above via CNN.

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