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Stephen A. Smith came to the defense of fellow journalist Don Lemon, who was arrested this week.
Lemon was indicted in Los Angeles on Friday afternoon on allegations of conspiracy to violate someone’s constitutional rights and alleged violations of the FACE Act.
Lemon’s arrest comes more than a week after he joined a group of anti-ICE protesters who disrupted a church service at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official serves as pastor.
The group of protesters chanted “ICE out,” disrupting the service, according to video footage.
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Stephen A. Smith and Don Limón (Getty Images)
Lemon, a freelance journalist, said he had attended the demonstration as a reporter, not a protester. In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Lemon commented: “I’m just here photographing, I’m not part of the group… I’m a journalist.”
The ESPN host said that since Lemon was there as a member of the press, his arrest violates the First Amendment.
“Whether he likes it or not, Don Lemon is a member of the press. Don Lemon has been in journalism for 30 years. Don Lemon worked at CNN for 17 years. And just because you don’t have a specific organization that you’re working for, that’s where the word independence comes from. It doesn’t mean your journalistic credentials are stripped away,” Smith said. “Not when you’ve been doing it for decades like him.
Don Lemon livestreamed left-wing agitators who stormed St. Paul’s Cities Church under suspicion that its pastor had collaborated with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage)
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“This is pure nonsense what’s going on. I’m a member of the press too. And there’s no way anyone in the journalism field shouldn’t support Don Lemon today. And that includes anyone on the right. Anyone in journalism.
“I’m not saying he was wise, I’m not saying he would have done it. I’m not saying he should have gone into a church to do interviews and things like that for a couple of minutes. But it doesn’t justify this. You support this, you don’t support the First Amendment. You don’t support freedom of the press.”
Lemon has hired Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell. Lowell said Friday that Lemon had attended the rally as a reporter and not as a protester.
“Don Lemon was detained by federal agents last night in Los Angeles, where he was covering the Grammy Awards,” Lowell said in a statement.
“Don has been a journalist for 30 years and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done.”
Lemon’s arrest comes as Minnesota has become a flashpoint for anti-immigration protesters in recent weeks, even after the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Don Lemon arrives at THR’s Empowerment in Entertainment Gala at Milk Studios on April 30, 2019 in Los Angeles. (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
President Donald Trump signaled earlier this week that his administration is willing to “de-escalate tensions” in Minnesota, although further details about that process remain unclear.
