Journalist Don Lemon blasted his January arrest during his Thursday appearance on "The View," saying he thought he was getting "mugged" and believed it was racially charged.
In January, a group of agitators interrupted a worship service at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota, over suggestions that the church was affiliated with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Cities Church Lead Pastor Jonathan Parnell described the incident as an "ambush" and said agitators were screaming in children’s faces. Parnell said cameras were shoved in his face and he lost sight of his wife, children, and congregation.
Lemon, who livestreamed the agitators storming the church and confronted the pastor with questions, was charged with conspiracy to deprive religious freedom rights and a violation of the FACE Act.
Lemon described the arrest during his Thursday interview on "The View," saying he initially thought he was being mugged during an encounter in an elevator.
"Someone grabbed me and I said, ‘Oh my God, I'm being mugged!’ I thought I was being mugged, so I started jostling, I started pulling back, they're like, ‘We're federal agents, we're here to arrest you,'" he said.
"Federal prosecutors do that and the Justice Department does that to send a message and to intimidate and to harass, and I'm – it's unfortunate, my friend, that you went through that," co-host Sunny Hostin said.
Lemon, agreeing that humiliation was the point of such treatment, noted that an attorney friend had told him, "’They gave you the N-word treatment.’"
"Yes, that is correct," Hostin agreed.
It appeared Lemon was referring to a separate person than Hostin, who is also an attorney and a longtime friend of Lemon.
Lemon has pleaded "not guilty" to federal charges related to his presence at the church. Lemon has denied wrongdoing and argued he was there as a journalist protected by the First Amendment.
During a February interview with liberal journalist and podcaster Jim Acosta, Lemon derided the churchgoers who criticized his presence there, saying they likely saw him as a protester rather than a journalist, because he is Black.
"And I think they were looking at me and, because the bulk of the protesters were Black, maybe they thought because I'm Black, that and I kept saying, ‘I'm not a protester. I'm here covering the protest. I'm not with them,’" he said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the DOJ and did not receive an immediate reply.
