Don Lemon says he was stunned when federal agents showed up at his Los Angeles hotel in the middle of the night, not because he was avoiding accountability, but because his legal team had already told authorities he would turn himself in.

The veteran journalist and former CNN anchor is facing federal civil rights charges connected to his coverage of an anti-ICE protest that disrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota. According to Lemon, the arrest could have been handled without the dramatic show of force.

Speaking publicly for the first time since his release, Lemon described the arrest as jarring and unnecessary. He said roughly a dozen agents approached him as he was heading to his hotel room late at night, suddenly grabbing him and placing him in handcuffs.

“I was walking up to the room and I pressed the elevator button, and then all of a sudden, I feel myself being jostled and people trying to grab me and put me in handcuffs,” the independent journalist said on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!".

Lemon said he asked officers who they were and requested to see a warrant. He was told they didn’t have one on hand, and that an FBI agent eventually showed him the warrant on a cellphone. He also said he was denied a phone call that night, leaving his husband unaware of where he was until agents agreed to return a bracelet Lemon was wearing to their hotel room.

The charges stem from an 18 January protest at Cities Church in Minnesota, where demonstrators disrupted a service led by a pastor who also works for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A grand jury indicted Lemon, fellow journalist Georgia Fort, and others, accusing them of conspiring to interfere with worshippers’ constitutional rights.

Lemon has repeatedly said he was not part of the protest and had no affiliation with the group that interrupted the service.

“I went there to be a journalist,” Lemon said. “I went there to chronicle and document and record what was happening. I was following that one group around, and so that’s what I did. I reported on them.”

That distinction matters, especially given Lemon’s long career in broadcast journalism.

Throughout his career, Lemon became known for centering conversations about race, policing, and political power — often drawing criticism for doing so unapologetically. His time at CNN ended in 2023 after a rocky stint on the network’s morning show, but Lemon has since reemerged as an independent journalist, launching his own media platform and continuing to report outside traditional cable news constraints.

His arrest has raised alarms among press freedom advocates, who worry the case could blur the line between protest and reporting — and potentially chill journalists covering demonstrations.

Lemon has pleaded not guilty and says he plans to fight the charges.

“I will not be silenced,” he said after being released from federal custody.