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Stephen A. Smith came to the defense of fellow journalist Don Lemon, who was arrested this week.
Lemon was arraigned Friday afternoon in Los Angeles on charges of conspiring to violate a person’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 service at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official serves as chaplain.
The group of protesters shouted “ICE out,” and interrupted the service, according to video footage.
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Stephen A. Smith and Don Lemon (Getty Images)
Lemon, an independent journalist, said he had attended the rally as a reporter, not a protester. In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Lemon noted, “I’m just here taking pictures, I’m not part of the group. … I’m a journalist.”
The ESPN host said, when Lemon was there as a member of the press, that his arrest violates the First Amendment.
“Whether you like 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 work for, that’s where the word independence comes from. That doesn’t mean your journalistic credentials are stripped,” Smith said. “Not when you’ve been doing it for decades like him.
Don Lemon live-streamed left-wing agitators storming St. Paul’s Cities Church on suspicion that its pastor had cooperated with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage)
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“This is just BS what he’s going through. I’m a member of the press too. And there’s no way in hell anyone in journalism shouldn’t be supporting Don Lemon today. And that includes everyone on the right. Anyone in journalism.
“I’m not saying it was wise, I’m not saying I would have done it. I’m not saying he should have gone into a church to do interviews and stuff for a few minutes. But that 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 demonstration in a reporting capacity and not as a protester.
“Don Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents last night in Los Angeles while he was covering the Grammy Awards,” Lowell said in a statement.
“Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutional work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done.”
Lemon’s arrest comes as Minnesota has emerged as a flashpoint for immigration protesters in recent weeks, including in the wake of 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 the administration is willing to “de-escalate” tensions in Minnesota, although further details of that process remain unclear.
