Don Lemon ARRESTED as Trump targets independent media

The government is now openly cheering the detention of a journalist.

It’s finally happened, folks. The Trump administration has come after independent media, and the person they chose to target first is friend of the show, Don Lemon.

Last night, federal agents arrested independent journalist Don Lemon in Los Angeles. Not during a protest. Not at a crime scene. He was in L.A. to be covering the Grammy Awards when he was taken into custody.

The arrest is connected to Lemon’s reporting earlier this month at a Minnesota church, where protesters confronted church leadership over allegations that one of the pastors also runs the local ICE field office overseeing deportation operations.

Lemon did what journalists do. He learned of the protest and chose to follow along and livestream. He interviewed protesters. He spoke with congregation members. He talked directly to the church’s lead pastor. He documented a confrontation between the public and power and let viewers see it for themselves.

For that, the federal government arrested him.

Let’s be very clear about what this is and what it is not. This was not Don Lemon participating in a protest. This was not incitement. This was not obstruction. This was journalism—plain, old-fashioned, constitutionally protected reporting.

And yet here we are.

What makes this even more chilling is what happened next. In the aftermath of the arrest, Donald Trump took to Truth Social to gloat and attack Lemon. He name dropped him in conversations with the press. One thing was clear: Don Lemon had landed squarely in Trump’s crosshairs.

Following the arrest, the official White House social media account posted about Lemon’s arrest with a mocking caption and a chain emoji—an unmistakable signal that the administration wasn’t just defending the arrest, but celebrating it.

The government is now openly cheering the detention of a journalist.

That should stop you cold.

Don Lemon’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, put it plainly. Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents despite having spent three decades doing exactly this kind of work. His reporting in Minneapolis, Lowell said, was no different from what he has always done: shining light on powerful institutions and holding them accountable.

Lowell called the arrest “an unprecedented attack on the First Amendment” and a transparent attempt to distract from the mounting crises facing the administration. Lemon, he said, will fight the charges vigorously.

He’s right to frame it that way. Because this isn’t really about Don Lemon.

This is about whether the federal government can decide that covering the wrong story, talking to the wrong people, or embarrassing the wrong officials is grounds for arrest. It’s about whether journalism becomes a legal risk when it intersects with immigration enforcement, police power, or Trump’s personal grievances.

We’ve been warning about this for years.

First it’s delegitimization. Then it’s threats. Then it’s lawsuits. Then it’s licenses, visas, mergers, and pressure campaigns. And eventually, it’s handcuffs.

This is the same playbook we saw when late-night hosts were targeted. It’s the same tactic used against critics inside major networks. And now it’s being deployed against independent media, where there is no corporate parent to lean on, no boardroom to intimidate, no advertiser to pressure into silence.

The message to every reporter watching is obvious: cover protests involving ICE, expose conflicts of interest, challenge the administration—and you could be next.

This is exactly why independent media matters.

The David Pakman Show is primarily funded directly by our members. There is no network executive who can “pause” us. No parent company choosing between truth and regulatory retaliation. No quiet phone call that makes us disappear overnight.

That doesn’t make us immune. They can still try to sue us. They can try to intimidate us. They can try to silence us. But they can’t control out messaging.

We answer to you.

If you’ve ever thought, someone needs to keep saying this out loud, that’s the role independent media plays. But it only works if it’s supported.

We’re reaching over 150 million people every month across YouTube, podcasts, Substack, and beyond. But algorithms can change. Platforms can fold. And when that happens, this newsletter is how we stay connected.

If you’re not yet a paid subscriber, please consider joining.
If you’re already paid on one platform, consider supporting us on both Substack and our website.

You can subscribe on our website and right here on Substack.

And if you’re really on fire, consider gifting a subscription—we’ve got thousands on our waiting list ready to read, watch, and fight back.

Let’s keep building.

—David

PS: Can’t contribute right now? No problem. You can support us for free by subscribing on YouTube, listening to our audio podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, or become a free subscriber to this very Substack. Every bit counts.