Don Lemon says Nancy Pelosi told him he’d be ‘face of the First Amendment’ after arrest

Former CNN host Don Lemon said former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California suggested that he could become the new “face of the First Amendment” after his recent arrest.

Lemon was arrested on Thursday night for his alleged involvement in an anti-immigration enforcement protest at a Minnesota church last month. After his Los Angeles court appearance, he was released from custody without bail, with his next court appearance scheduled for Feb. 9 in Minneapolis.

Since his arrest, Lemon has received widespread support from several liberal commentators and Democratic politicians, including Pelosi.

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During his most recent livestream on Monday, Lemon revealed that Pelosi called him after his release and encouraged him to “stay strong” during this time and suggested that he could become the “face” of the First Amendment for his efforts.

“The honorable Speaker Emeritus said to me, she said you will be, you know, just stay strong [and] you will become the face of the First Amendment, you know if you got to be strong. You got to do it right,'” Lemon said. “Then I said well, ‘Madame Speaker, do you think that we’re going to have an election in 2026?’ She said, ‘absolutely 100%.’ And so I take her at her word, and I stand with that.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Pelosi’s office for comment.

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Despite standing with Pelosi’s word that the 2026 midterm elections will occur, Lemon expressed doubts about the state of the U.S. Constitution and said the press must band together after his arrest.

“We need a free and independent press in this time. And for like-minded people who believe in the Constitution, who believe in democracy, it is time for us to band together and not let the small things separate us because if we don’t end this now, I believe the very little that we have left of our Constitution is going to be over. It’s going to be gone. We won’t have that anymore if we continue,” Lemon said.

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Lemon was charged with conspiracy to deprive rights and violation of the FACE Act for his involvement in the anti-ICE protest that disrupted services at a Minnesota church.

Lemon went viral last month for livestreaming left-wing agitators who stormed St. Paul’s Cities Church during Sunday services. Lemon has maintained he was there as a journalist, not as a protester. In the indictment, however, the DOJ accuses him of coordinating with the protest organizers before they arrived at the church. 

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Fox News’ Joseph Wulfsohn contributed to this report.