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Co-hosts of “The View” agreed Monday that former CNN host Don Lemon was arrested because he is Black and a journalist critical of President Donald Trump.
“They released the news at the exact same time that they released the Epstein documents,” co-host Ana Navarro said. “Make no mistake about it. This was about gaslighting, this was about going against Don Lemon and other journalists, by the way — all of whom happen to be Black. Happy Black History Month.”
She made the comments while showing a graphic of Don Lemon and journalists Georgia Fort, Jamael Lydell Lundy, and Trahern Jeen Crews. She added, “It’s to send a chilling message to anybody who is covering facts. For some reason — well, I know the reason — this administration is afraid of people seeing the truth and being informed.”
Lemon was arrested Friday on federal charges connected to his presence at an anti-ICE protest that disrupted a service at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Lemon, who was released without bail, said he was there acting as a journalist. Prosecutors charged him, along with other participants in the incident, with allegedly interfering with the exercise of religious worship during the protest.
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The case has prompted debate over whether his First Amendment rights as a journalist are being infringed or whether his actions crossed a line in interfering with others’ rights to worship in peace.
“I think they picked on the wrong guy, because Don Lemon is not going to play dead,” Navarro said. “Don Lemon has the wherewithal, has the structure, has the team, has the courage and has the money to fight this administration, and he’s going to take it as far as it goes.”
“I agree with that,” co-host Sunny Hostin said. “You know what happens next is that he will have his day in court and I suspect that this case will be thrown out. This case doesn’t have any merit, and I think the national association of Black journalists said it best. They said the First Amendment is not optional and journalism is not a crime and that is absolutely, absolutely true.”
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“What’s striking to me is that, you know, Don is – I want to be transparent. You know, Don is one of my dearest friends, and so I felt terrible when I saw this happening,” Hostin continued.
“I really think – I’ve been with Don in Ferguson, I’ve been with Don on the ground in South Carolina,” she continued. “Don is a journalist, he is an on-the-ground journalist. He has been pepper-sprayed, he has been tear-gassed, and he was getting the story and nothing should have gotten in the way of that. He had a microphone with him, he had a cameraman with him, and he was practicing journalism.”
She then agreed with Navarro’s point.
“And I think you’re right, Ana, this is not necessarily about Don because he can fight this, he has the resources. This is about scaring other journalists, so that other journalists will not cover this administration,” Hostin concluded.
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