The Media Research Center wasn’t done gleefully cheering the arrest of former CNN anchor Don Lemon for his alleged behavior in a January protest at a Minnesota church. Comedy cop Alex Christy huffed in a Feb. 3 post:
Before former CNN anchor Don Lemon joined ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Monday to discuss his recent arrest, he was probably told by his lawyer not to say anything that would get him in trouble, so that left much of the outrage-mongering about the actual incident to the eponymous host. According to Kimmel, Lemon was “arrested for committing journalism” and accused Attorney General Pam Bondi of lying and hypocrisy for saying the administration will not tolerate people who disrupt worship services, although his evidence was practically non-existent.
Kimmel began by introducing Lemon, “Our first guest tonight is a longtime TV and digital newsman who on Thursday night was arrested for committing journalism, which is a very serious crime under our current administration. Joining us now to share all the incredible details, please welcome Don Lemon.”
As Lemon sat down, Kimmel continued, “Thank you for being here. I—and I hope you’re okay. I hope you’re mentally okay after what happened to you. How are you?”
Lemon answered, “I don’t know” and “That’s a really—that’s an honest answer. I don’t know. I mean, I’m okay. But I’m not going to let them steal my joy, but this is very serious. I mean, these are federal criminal charges.”
One of the unintended side effects of Lemon’s arrest is that it forced Kimmel to actually talk about the St. Paul church invasion. Of course, Kimmel sided with the mob, however, sarcastically noting, “Apparently there was a pastor at the church who was also a local ICE official, which is, I think, just as Jesus would want, and I believe we have some B-roll. Protesters interrupted the Sunday service. And you followed them in.”
Christy didn’t explain why a church pastor who was an ICE official wasn’t worth protesting. Instead, he huffed further:
If Kimmel insisted on interviewing Lemon, he should’ve asked about his refusal to leave when asked and about the allegations he hindered people’s ability to leave. Lemon probably would not have answered, but if Kimmel wants to be a newsman in addition to a comedian, that should’ve been the bare minimum.
Steve Malzberg whined that a channel failed to stick with its preferred right-wing narrative:
It was a bit surprising to learn from our colleague Jorge Bonilla, that this past weekend’s Sunday news shows weren’t dominated by the arrest of former CNN host Don Lemon over his actions in a church invasion on January 18. But last Saturday on MS NOW, host Ali Velshi, who used to work with Lemon at CNN, brought on another CNN alumnus, Jim Acosta, to discuss poor Lemon’s plight on Velshi.
Velshi teased the segment by calling Lemon’s arrest, “An escalation of Donald Trump’s attack on press freedom that cannot be ignored,” and continued with that narrative.
[…]Velshi did not mention Lemon was charged with violation of the Face Act. He failed to address seemingly incriminating evidence against Lemon, presented on Fox’s Jesse Watters Prime Time. Watters claimed that Lemon, “was in on the crime”, and that he met up with the invaders of the Church ahead of time, “he knew the target and admitted he was in on the operation.”
Christy returned to grouse in a Feb. 13 post:
As former CNN host Don Lemon was arraigned on Friday for his role in the St. Paul church invasion, his former employer stepped up to defend him. According to First Amendment lawyer and CNN News Central guest Katie Fallow, what Lemon did was functionally no different than a reporter jaywalking while covering a protest.
Host Boris Sanchez got things going when he wondered, “Historically, has DOJ often tried to prosecute someone accused of interfering in a house of worship? If they are documenting that said interference?”
[…]Accepting Lemon’s version of events, Fallow added, “Don Lemon said repeatedly that he was there not as part of the protest, but as a reporter covering those events. And that’s a really important principle in our constitutional system is that the press provides access to the public to really important events, and that both the courts and the Department of Justice have historically recognized that. And the Department of Justice in the past has refrained from bringing any kind of coercive, you know, subpoena or arrest charges against journalists merely for the act of engaging in news gathering or reporting.”
Christy offered no reason not to accept Lemon’s version of events beyond whining: “Lemon is alleged to have not left the church after being asked to. If a mob barged onto CNN’s set or into Fallow’s home and someone with a camera started asking questions, there is zero chance that they would agree to call that person a journalist.”
Christy groused further in a March 7 post:
HBO’s Bill Maher welcomed former CNN anchor Don Lemon to Friday’s edition of Real Time where he did his best to make Lemon feel better about his federal indictment, where he is alleged to have violated the rights of Minnesota church attendees by disrupting their service and intimidated the pastor. According to Maher, the charges are “powerful bullshit.”
Maher began by inviting Lemon to take a victory lap, “Don, I see you’re in the news quite a bit lately. Oh, I was at the Clive Davis Grammy Party when Clive introduced you, and you got the biggest ovation in the room. Kristi Noem fired this week. Do you feel vindicated? Do you feel like doing the Trump dance now? Do you want to be jerking off two guys at once?”
Lemon declined, “Not until Pam Bondi is. Then I’ll do the double BJ.”
Maintaining the narrative that he is just a simple journalist, Lemon replied, “Well, according to the protest group, one of the pastors was, I think, a regional director for ICE in that region.”
Maher then touched on the allegations against Lemon, “Pastors do that? Pastors are also regional directors of ICE? There’s things going on in this country—I’m just—I try to keep up with the news, and I’m—and they said that you stood in close proximity to the pastor and attempted to oppress and intimidate him? That’s some powerful bullshit there, isn’t it? I mean—”
An appreciative Lemon answered, “I’m glad you can see through that.”
The truth is Lemon joined a crowd of people in invading private property and refused to leave when asked. If, during this interview, an audience member stormed the set with his phone and started videotaping it while asking Lemon questions, nobody would describe that person as a journalist.
Christy is very much sticking to the right-wing narrative that Lemon deserves arrest because he allegedly refused to leave when asked.