Friday’s CBS Mornings was the only broadcast network to mention on a flagship morning newscast the breaking story of former CNN host-turned-far-left internet charlatan Don Lemon being arrested by the Justice Department for depriving a St. Paul, Minnesota congregation of its First Amendment rights on January 18 as part of an anti-Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) mob. That said, however, they were shaken by the development.
‘CBS Mornings’ opened the 8am hour with the arrest of Don Lemon and co-host Gayle King wondering “what in the world is happening here” and “you heard that correctly.”
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 30, 2026
Correspondent Lilia Luciano said “this is a concern that people have” with charges being filed while exercising… pic.twitter.com/19jdP6UHfw
Co-host and Democrat donor Gayle King sounded exasperated in announcing, even stating out loud “you heard that correctly” in case someone thought it was a joke. She then tossed to correspondent Lilia Luciano with a sense of disgust in wondering “what in the world is happening here”:
We’re gonna start this hour with breaking news from Los Angeles where journalist Don Lemon was arrested overnight in connection with an incident during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. You heard that correctly. Don Lemon was arrested last night. Lilia Luciano is there with the story. Lilia, good morning. What in the world is happening here?
Luciano dutifully concurred with this: “Look, this is a concern that people have. People have been talking here about the First Amendment.”
She followed with details about Lemon’s arrest and what it’s in connection to, which she said was “in connection to activities of protest that happened” even though Lemon “said he was there in the capacity of a journalist”:
I received a tip this morning early in the morning by someone, a source familiar with the arrest, confirming that Don Lemon overnight was arrested in Los Angeles. He was in Los Angeles for the Grammy’s, as you know, are happening on Sunday. And, this, as you said, is in connection to activities of protest that happened in St. Paul on January 20 [sic]. Here’s what we know. That day, demonstrators entered the church during a service after learning an ICE official was one of the pastors of that church. Don Lemon was at the church that day and interviewed the pastor. He said he was there in the capacity of a journalist.
She concluded by acknowledging the Justice Department had been seeking charges for weeks by “accusing [the mob] of interfering with churchgoers’ constitutionally protected right to worship, but then a magistrate judge refused to sign the warrant for Lemon, citing a lack of probable cause.”
She later added: “Now, multiple sources tell CBS News that Lemon was, in fact, overnight — arrested overnight. We, of course, have reached out to his representatives and also to the Department of Justice to confirm exactly what these charges are. We are going to continue reporting on this[.]”
With more time to prepare and spin, we’ll see how the Friday network newscasts rush to Lemon’s defense and whether the rights of the churchgoers is actually given the light of day.
To see the relevant transcript from January 30, click “expand.”
CBS Mornings
January 30, 2026
8:02 a.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Breaking News; Journalist Don Lemon Arrested After Church Protest]
GAYLE KING: We’re gonna start this hour with breaking news from Los Angeles where journalist Don Lemon was arrested overnight in connection with an incident during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. You heard that correctly. Don Lemon was arrested last night. Lilia Luciano is there with the story. Lilia, good morning. What in the world is happening here?
LILIA LUCIANO: Good morning, Gayle. Look, this is a concern that people have. People have been talking here about the First Amendment. I received a tip this morning early in the morning by someone, a source familiar with the arrest, confirming that Don Lemon overnight was arrested in Los Angeles. He was in Los Angeles for the Grammy’s, as you know, are happening on Sunday. And, this, as you said, is in connection to activities of protest that happened in St. Paul on January 20 [sic]. Here’s what we know. That day, demonstrators entered the church during a service after learning an ICE official was one of the pastors of that church. Don Lemon was at the church that day and interviewed the pastor. He said he was there in the capacity of a journalist. Federal prosecutors later sought arrest warrants for five people and that included Don Lemon, accusing them of interfering with churchgoers’ constitutionally protected right to worship. But then a magistrate judge refused to sign the warrant for Lemon, citing a lack of probable cause. The Justice Department then took what is categorized as a very unusual step of asking a federal appeals court to force the warrants to be signed. That’s a request that the appeals court had denied. Lemon’s attorney — not right now, we still haven’t heard from him — but days ago said that the magistrate decision “confirmed that Lemon was engaged in First Amendment-protected journalism” and called the government’s effort “a stunning and troubling attempt to silence and punish a journalist for doing his job.” Now, multiple sources tell CBS News that Lemon was, in fact, overnight — arrested overnight. We, of course, have reached out to his representatives and also to the Department of Justice to confirm exactly what these charges are. We are going to continue reporting on this, Gayle.
NATE BURLESON: I’ll take it from here, Lilia. We will follow up and stay tuned.
LUCIANO: Yep!
BURLESON: Lilia. Thank you.
