For someone who has openly flirted with running for president as a Democrat, Stephen A. Smith has aligned with Donald Trump and his administration on a surprising number of controversial issues. But the arrest of former CNN host Don Lemon was a bridge too far.
Lemon was arrested by federal agents along with three others for covering a protest at a Minneapolis church. A worship service was interrupted by protesters who believed that a pastor at the church was connected to ICE, who has been occupying Minnesota for weeks, murdering two American citizens along the way. Lemon and other journalists were there to cover the scene, as is their first amendment right.
However, a little thing like the first amendment does not stand in the way of the authoritarian push from those currently in power. And with Lemon seen as an adversarial voice, that’s all that was needed for him to be placed into custody.
And Stephen A. Smith called on all journalists, no matter where they stand politically, to oppose the arrest of Don Lemon on his Straight Shooter political platform.
If you support what happened to Don Lemon, you don’t support The First Amendment pic.twitter.com/BZQnP382at
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) January 31, 2026
“Whether you like it or not, Don Lemon is a member of hte press. Don Lemon has been in journalism for 30 years. Don Lemon worked at CNN for 17 years. And just because you don’t have a specific organization that you’re working for, that’s where the word independence comes from, it doesn’t mean that your journalism credentials are stripped. Not when you’ve been doing it for decades like him. This is straight BS what he’s going through,” Smith said.
“I’m a member of the press too. And ain’t no way in hell anyone in the field of journalism shouldn’t be supporting Don Lemon today. And that’s including anyone on the right. Anybody in journalism. I’m not saying it was wise, I’m not saying I would have done it. I’m not saying he should have walked into a church to do interviews and stuff like that for a couple of minutes. But it don’t warrant this. You support this, you don’t support the First Amendment. You don’t support freedom of the press. Don Lemon has been critical of me, I don’t give a damn,” he added.
It wasn’t too long ago that Stephen A. Smith advocated for appeasement when it came to Donald Trump. Given all the events of the last several months and the way that Trump and the federal government continue to crack down on anyone that opposes him, maybe he has finally woken up to the grim reality that the country now faces.
About Matt Yoder