Don Lemon drops N-word as former CNN anchor reveals details of arrest by federal agents on The View

By STEPHEN M. LEPORE, US SENIOR REPORTER Published: 02:04, 3 April 2026 | Updated: 02:11, 3 April 2026 Don Lemon said that he got 'the N-word treatment' when he was arrested for joining anti-ICE protesters as they stormed a church in Minnesota.  The former CNN host spoke about the legal trouble he found himself in on The View, and criticized the way he had been treated by federal agents. 'As my friend, who is also an attorney, said, "They gave you the N-word treatment,"' Lemon said. He added that he believed he received such harsh handling because 'they want to embarrass you. They want to humiliate you.'  Co-host Sunny Hostin - herself a lawyer - revealed she had been helping Lemon and agreed with how he'd been treated.  'Yes, yes, that is correct,' she said. Lemon's process after the clip of him interviewing protesters and churchgoers went viral was to seek out an attorney to fight now-axed Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy Todd Blanche. 'My attorney emailed them and said, ''Hey, if you're serious, let's do this right. He'll turn himself in,' they call it self-report.' Don Lemon said that he got 'the N-word treatment' when he was arrested for joining anti-ICE protesters as they stormed a church in Minnesota Lemon also charged Donald Trump with directly targeting him for criticizing the president on the air Lemon said the Department of Justice never responded, instead sending '12, 15, maybe 20' federal agents to arrest him. He also charged Donald Trump with directly targeting him for criticizing the president on the air. 'I mean, the president has been talking about me forever. He would call me the dumbest man on television and tweet about me.'  Lemon then referenced Trump's national address on Wednesday night, saying: 'I think the dumbest man on television presented himself last night. That was the evidence.' The former CNN host has been building his own world since 2023, when he was fired from the network for making controversial comments about women in their 40s being past their prime.  Since then, Lemon has found himself in legal trouble after his arrest for joining the anti-ICE storming of a Minnesota church in January whose pastor works for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  Lemon was released without bail following his first appearance in court in Los Angeles after his arrest. The ongoing case has become a flashpoint in debates about the First Amendment. Lemon has found himself in legal trouble after his arrest for joining the anti-ICE storming of a Minnesota church in January whose pastor works for Immigration and Customs Enforcement Lemon was released from federal custody in LA with no having to pay bail following his arrest related to a protest at a Minnesota church. He left the court with husband Tim Malone At a charity event, Lemon defended the First Amendment, stating: 'I'm here just because this is really important, and I believe in freedom of expression. I believe in the First Amendment, freedom of the press, all of those things. 'I think it's important for you guys to support that, and especially to support - in this day and age - independent journalism in the media.'  The target of the protest was Pastor David Easterwood, and demonstrators said they weren't protesting his faith, but the fact that he reportedly also works as a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. Lemon has defended himself and said he was only at the protest to cover it as a journalist.  Georgia Fort, an independent journalist, was similarly hit with federal charges, but she has also said she was at the protest to report on it. Yesterday, Lemon said he wholeheartedly believes he'd make a great presidential candidate and could outperform Trump. Lemon, 60, said he doesn't have any 'aspiration to become president,' but he does think he could 'run this country a lot better than Donald Trump,' he said on Pod Save America. 'I think I could be president of the United States,' he said. 'I know people are going to think I'm crazy. This is going to be the headline, and people are going to laugh about it.' Don Lemon said he believes he could be a better president than Donald Trump, although he doesn't plan on launching a presidential campaign  Lemon described himself as an Independent, but said he would more than likely run on a Democrat ticket in the hypothetical race. 'Look, why can't I think about running for office? Why can't I think about being president of the United States when look at what we have,' he questioned. The former CNN anchor said no one believed former President Barack Obama would take the White House in 2008. 'Anybody ever think that he would become president, that he had that aspiration?' Lemon said. Unlike Lemon, Obama had a successful career as a US senator before ascending to the most powerful office in the world. The journalist also thought he'd be a great candidate to whip a news organization into shape, as he's been on the inside of it before. 'I'm busy, I'm building my own channel, and I'm building my own network, and we'll see where that goes, but if they dropped me into a news organization, I could fix it up. I could clean up the place.  'Don Lemon is ready to conquer the world.'  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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