Broadcast journalist Don Lemon has claimed that the manner of his arrest was designed to "instil fear" in him.
The former CNN host-turned-independent journalist was arrested in Los Angeles on Thursday night and charged with violating a federal law by allegedly disrupting people's right to worship during a protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota on 18 January.
In his first interview since his arrest, Lemon shared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Monday night that he had reached out to federal prosecutors once or twice, but they allegedly didn't respond to his offer to turn himself in.
He claimed that they orchestrated a public arrest involving a dozen law enforcement officers to send a message.
Describing it as a "waste of resources", he said, "They want to embarrass you, they want to intimidate you, they want to instil fear and that's why they did it that way."
Lemon, 59, also recalled the moment when he was arrested in the foyer of his hotel after he returned from a pre-Grammy party.
"I pressed the elevator button and all of a sudden, I feel myself being jostled and people trying to grab me and put me in handcuffs," he recounted. "And I said, 'What are you doing here?' They said, 'We came to arrest you.' I said, 'Who are you?' Finally, they identified themselves. I said, 'If you are who you are, where's the warrant?' They didn't have the warrant. So, they had to wait for someone outside, an FBI guy to come in, to show me a warrant on a cell phone."
The Don Lemon Show host was taken into custody in the federal courthouse and was released by a judge on Friday.
On 18 January, Lemon broadcast protesters disrupting a Sunday service at the church, where an ICE official allegedly serves as a pastor, on his YouTube show. Three demonstrators were also arrested in connection with the incident.
During the interview, he thanked everyone who spoke out about his arrest, particularly fellow journalists, and insisted that he was not involved in the protest.
"I'm not a protester. I went there to be a journalist. I went there to chronicle and document and record what was happening," he stated.
