When a grand jury on January 29 indicted former CNN host Don Lemon for allegedly participating in the disruption of a Minneapolis-area church service, the corporate media responded with unanimous outrage. But for all of their handwringing, not a single journalist has acknowledged even once on any of the big three broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) that Lemon’s arrest was, in fact, the result of a grand jury indictment.
MRC analysts examined all coverage of Lemon’s arrest on the big three broadcast networks’ flagship morning (Good Morning America, CBS Mornings, and Today) and evening shows (ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, and NBC Nightly News), from the morning of January 30 through the morning of February 3, 2026. Across the seven different reports about the incident, totaling just over 14 minutes, not once was it mentioned that Lemon’s arrest was not a reckless act by an out of control Justice Department, but rather the result of a grand jury indictment.
All three networks covered the event once on their evening newscasts on January 30, and a second time the following morning — for a total of 163 (ABC), 351 (CBS), and 334 seconds of coverage, respectively. CBS Mornings also ran a report just hours after the arrest on January 30.
While none of the networks mentioned the grand jury indictment, all three did cover other aspects of the Justice Department’s attempts to attain an arrest warrant — specifically, the fact that a magistrate judge had refused to issue such a warrant, and the subsequent denial of a warrant by an appellate court. CBS covered these details three separate times; NBC reported on them twice, and ABC just once.
NBC’s framing of the arrest was by far the most slanted in Lemon’s favor. Correspondent Liz Kreutz suggested no less than eight times that Lemon had been arrested for “reporting,” or “covering” the protest, rather than for his participation in the disruption of a church service.
In a report that aired on both the evening of January 30 and the following morning, Kreutz implied that the arrest was little more than an attempt to silence a journalist who was critical of the Trump administration:
[Lemon] repeatedly identifies himself as a journalist… But the DOJ is grouping Lemon, who has been critical of the Trump administration — and another independent journalist who was also arrested — with the protest organizers.
Obviously these networks know how the Department of Justice ended up charging Lemon. And in fact, on several occasions reporters vaguely alluded to “the indictment.” Yet not once did they reveal what indictment they were referring to, or through what process it had been issued.
This suggests that the broadcast journalists, like basically everyone else covering this story, are fully aware that the grand jury indictment is the most damning piece of evidence against Lemon. And judging by the tone of the rest of their reporting on this incident, it’s clear they’re attempting to paint him as obviously innocent well before his trial even get underway.
