Don Lemon Enters "Find Out" Phase After Arrest Under the Klan Act, with Michael Knowles

What this episode is about

The discussion centers on the arrest of Don Lemon under the Klan Act, with Michael Knowles expressing approval of the arrest as a necessary step for both societal order and Lemon's own rehabilitation. Knowles criticizes the media's role in perpetuating false narratives and emphasizes that Lemon's actions, which allegedly included conspiracy to violate federal law, should result in serious consequences, advocating for accountability similar to that faced by others who have violated the law under the same act.

Key takeaways

• Don Lemon's arrest: a surprising twist for a journalist, igniting debates about media accountability and legal boundaries.
• Cigars and arrests? Nolles celebrates law enforcement, but can justice serve all equally in the media circus?
• Is journalism a shield for lawlessness? Lemon's case challenges the 'freedom to disrupt' narrative with stark consequences.
• The FACE Act irony: pro-life grannies serve time while a polarizing media figure faces potential leniency. Justice or hypocrisy?
• Lemon's predicament strikes a nerve: when does protest cross into criminality? A defining moment for press integrity looms.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Megyn Kelly (Guest) · 6 min speaking
• Michael Knowles (Guest) · 9 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: Don Lemon, Face Act, Michael Nolles
2. 3:00 – 6:00: Don Lemon, Face Act, Megan Kelly, Michael Nolles
3. 6:00 – 9:00: Don Lemon, Michael Nolles
4. 9:00 – 12:00: Don Lemon, First Amendment, Megan Kelly
5. 12:00 – 15:00: First Amendment, Birch Gold Group, Don Lemon, Michael Nolles

Notable quotes from "Don Lemon Enters "Find Out" Phase After Arrest Under the Klan Act, with Michael Knowles"

• Michael Nolles, your thoughts on Don Lemon being taken away in handcuffs.

  about Michael Nolles · at 0:00

• Pro-life granny's served years in the clink for praying at abortion clinics because of Face Act violations. Don Lemon needs to serve double that. What he did is much worse than what the.

  about Face Act · at 1:47

• Everyone can pull a Megan Kelly and go from TV to new media and then dominate new media, too. Don Lemon was basically pushed to the side of the media world. He saw this as his…

  about Don Lemon · at 9:23

• I hope this becomes a referendum on the First Amendment. I hope so. That's what the left wants to make it because they think that the facts are on their side.

  about First Amendment · at 11:57

• A new year means new financial goals like making sure your savings are secure and diversified. Will this be the year you decide to talk to someone from Birch Gold Group? They…

  about Birch Gold Group · at 14:08

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Don Lemon — Person · Primary referenced subject (accused/criticized figure) · 12 mentions · first at 0:00
  Central figure in the discussion; hosts characterize him as an active participant in an alleged church disruption and argue journalism is not a defense to criminal conduct.
• Megan Kelly — Person · Host / lead interviewer · 3 mentions · first at 5:55
  Leads the segment, challenges the 'journalist immunity' framing, and supplies examples (audio/transcript) to argue Lemon acted in solidarity with protesters.
  Not everyone is that good at it. Not everyone can pull a Megan Kelly and go from TV to new media and then dominate new media, too. Don Lemon was basically pushed to the side of the media.
• Michael Nolles — Person · Main guest / commentator · 5 mentions · first at 0:00
  Provides the main legal/political argument supporting Lemon’s arrest and frames it as accountability for media and protest-related lawbreaking.

Concepts & topics

• Face Act — Concept · Core topic · 4 mentions · first at 1:19
  Discussed as the legal basis for Don Lemon's arrest and its implications for journalism and protest.
• First Amendment — Concept · Key argument · 5 mentions · first at 10:38
  Central to the discussion about the limits of free speech and journalism in the context of Don Lemon's arrest.

Sponsors

• Birch Gold Group — Company · Sponsor · 2 mentions · first at 14:14
  Mentioned as a sponsor offering financial services related to gold investment.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Michael Nolles, your thoughts on Don Lemon being taken away in handcuffs. When I got the news, I was sitting down for my show this morning. I pulled a Mayflower cigar out of my cigar box. I lit it up. I'm a simple man. The feds arrest Don Lemon. I light a cigar. This is uh without any qualification a wonderful thing to happen. It is good for society. It is good for law and order. It's even good for Don Lemon because the guy is clearly very messed up. Look, all the public stories about Murf's Bar in Sag Harbor and the guy's got a lot of problems. Okay? And this is good. He needs to be rehabilitated. He's got a lot of issues. He needs to be corrected. Uh but it's really important because it the the biggest uh impediment I think to our having a good orderly society in recent years has been the establishment media. They're the ones who lie. They're the ones who push their radical policies. They're the ones who

0:57 protect the horrible politicians and they've gotten away with it. And what this arrest signifies is that you can't just go about and commit crimes and then claim journalism as a defense. Uh you know the the idea that Don Lemon could by all evidence conspire with this mob. He said, "I know a little secret. I know what we're about to do. Go in there, violate federal law, the Face Act, notably deprive people of their rights, and then say, no, no, I have a camera while I did it." I mean, that would be like saying you go over, you murder your enemy, you shoot him five times in the head, and you say, "No, no, no, you can't arrest me. I was going to write an article about it later." That's not a defense. And and so I I I'm pleased by the arrest. Now, what's very important is we need the serious charges, and we we need him to be found guilty. He needs to actually serve time for this.

1:47 Pro-life granny's served years in the clink for praying at abortion clinics because of Face Act violations. Don Lemon needs to serve double that. What he did is much much worse than what the pro-life granny's did. So the fear here is if he gets off the hook, it'll be good for him. It'll it'll put us in a worse position than we were in in the in the beginning. But that's not an excuse to do nothing. You just have to push ahead. This guy needs to face consequences.

2:13 I totally agree with that. I agree with every word. I know some people are worried about making him a martyr. That's not the point. He violated the law. It's all there. It's right on camera. It's really not even ambiguous and people claiming that it is are activists or political hacks. And the point is it is justice going to apply to both sides or isn't it? If the granny's have to go to jail for the abortion clinics, Don Lemon has to go to jail for the church. Sorry, them's the breaks.

2:42 I guess the question you would have to ask the people who are defending Don Lemon or saying that he's a martyr or something like that is okay, did he violate the law? did and and get just try to figure out I guess if they actually defend the face act. By the way, I think the face act is horrible. It obviously only exists to protect abortionists and

3:02 it's always been used on the abortion. That's all it's for. And uh but to get it passed, they had to also carve out protections for churches. Now, I think churches could be protected in plenty of other ways that don't involve the face act, but just get the people who are defending him to ask, okay, did he violate the Face Act? I think anybody who's being even slightly honest here has to admit yes he did that and so then get them to to admit the next principle which is okay well why should he get off the hook and they'll say well cuz he's a journalist you say so journalists have immunity to commit any crime that they want I don't think that's a principle of American law I don't know Megan I I didn't go to law school but I I don't think that's a part of our law or our jurist prudence so then on on what grounds is he to be defended and the only grounds is well those dirty Christians had it coming those those

3:47 white people in Minnesota who that ICE agent that they said was being harbored in the church, uh, they had it coming and it's okay to break the law if it punishes our political enemies. And I think if you scratch the left on this far enough, that's that's what you're going to get to, which is a preposterous argument. I I I just I hope it comes to a consequence because Don Lemon right now must be feeling either that he's in trouble, you know, he might actually go to the clink, uh, or he might say, "Great, this is act two of my career. My career was in the doldrums. Now I've got a lot of attention, which is obviously what I was craving. And so the stakes are very high. The the DOJ is in a slightly tough position here because I think they really need to come through.

4:30 I think they do too. And good for them for swinging for the fences on it because there were a lot of pressure on them from the left not to touch anybody who calls themselves a journalist. And they blew through that understanding that this is a serious before and after moment going into a church and doing this. And you've got Lemon. I just played the sound bite, Michael. Here's the transcript of it of what he said on camera to like inside the church. He said quoting "You can protest at any time." He says, "There's nothing in the Constitution that tells you what time you can protest." No, but there are time, place, and manner restrictions that have been upheld under case law interpreting the Constitution for decades. Um, he says you can protest at any time. That's the whole point of it to disrupt. It's to make uncomfortable. And that's what they're doing. And that's what I believe when I say everyone has to be willing to

5:24 sacrifice something. Right. Oh, you too, Don. You're about to sacrifice your freedom to have disrupted and to have been made make made the people feel uncomfortable. You have to make people uncomfortable. He he says in these times you see how uncomfortable people how uncomfortably and how harsh people are being treated on the streets. So you have to be willing to go into places and disrupt and make people uncomfortable. That is what this country is about. He is completely in solidarity with the protesters. He's making their case on camera to encourage it. He's arguing with the pastor about how this is necessary and he should take it.

6:04 Honestly, I have to tell you, Michael, this is very creepy, but to me, his whole like trauma is part of it and you have to be make you have to make people uncomfortable. That's all part of it. He sounds to me like a weird sexual assaulter talking to his victim like this is part of it. It's the the trauma is part of it. Just just take it. Just get used to it.

6:23 Well, given some just lie back and take it. Well, given some of the other allegations against Don Lemon, I guess that's probably part for the course. I think your observation here, Megan, is key. What the defense is going to claim is that he was a passive observer, a reporter committing an act of journalism. And all of the evidence we have is that he was not a passive observer. He was an active participant. He didn't just stumble onto this news story. He rode up there with the uh criminals with with the mob. He knew what they were going to do ahead of time. He participated in that. As you point out, he made their case for them on air. He's also on camera giving them coffee and donuts in solidarity.

7:03 Oh, we have that. Yeah. I mean, there's Well, let me show that, Michael. Good point. We haven't shown that yet. Here it is.

7:10 You want some coffee? Anybody want some coffee? You're welcome. Everybody want out here?

7:18 Good. Good. You want some? I'm good. Thank you. Coffee. You guys want any coffee?

7:23 I'm good. Thank you. What about you, brother? Appreciate what you Thank you. You good?

7:27 Yeah, we're good. Thank you. You're good. All right. I'm here. I'm here. I'm here.

7:37 I'm here. You guys want some? You don't want to wash that down with anything? In all my years covering the Westboro Baptist Church or Code Pink or the Women's March, I never joined Michael Nolles. Never. I never served coffee, donuts. I never said good when they were telling me about their plans. Never. I never gave them any assistance or aid whatsoever because that would be crossing an ethical line for a journalist.

8:06 Of course, I I've never even given coffee and donuts to the subjects that I interview that I like, much less the ones that I I don't like

8:14 to the staff of the Michael. Certainly not. You kidding me? We were on a tight ship around here. This is so above and beyond. And by the way, it is incriminating. I you know, I know Don Lemon wanted to get some great uh clips out of this and he did. that he went viral for it, but this is incriminating because it shows that he he is an active participant here. And I I would go even further, you know, if if Don Lemon were really pressed on this, I I would I would put it back on him and say, "Well, hold on. So, you're not in solidarity with the protesters and because obviously the whole reason that he's there is to express this solidarity to suck up to an audience uh that is promoting political violence and violations of federal law and undermining other federal law like immigration enforcement." So, I'd put him in this position, say, "Hold on.

8:57 You've been on camera now for weeks talking about how you stand with these people. Now, that's put you in legal hot water because it impelled you to commit a crime. And so, now you're going to try to say you don't stand with these people. Which one is it? He He can't have it both ways." You know, I think he just got a little too far out ahead of his skis. He He was upset that he lost his career in cable news and he wanted to try to make his bones in new media. Not everyone is that good at it. Not everyone can pull a Megan Kelly and go from TV to new media and then dominate new media, too. Don Lemon was basically pushed to the side of of the media world. He saw this as his opening and uh he got a little too excited and he committed a very serious federal crime.

9:39 That's the problem for John Lemon. If he had stayed on that sidewalk, this wouldn't be happening to him. But he didn't. He joined the mob. He disrupted the service. He got in the face of the pastor and other parishioners. He was told to leave. He refused. He's in a lot of trouble. And it's not because President Trump doesn't like Don Lemon. Trust me, there are many other journalists, ones who actually have power, unlike Don Lemon, who President Trump would love to take out, but doesn't. This isn't about any vendetta against Lemon. He would have been picking on him and trying to get him fired from CNN. He would have been like actively interfering in Don's life long before this. This is about what Don Lemon chose to do and who he chose to target. Target target. I want to give you a flavor for what we're hearing from the insane left. Jim Aosta, this is outrageous and cannot stand. I know you really wanted to ask you're

10:28 asking yourself, what does Jim Every morning I wake up, what does Jim think please?

10:31 What if he could set the standards of journalism for me? Then I could finally proceed with my day. Uh, this is outrage outrageous and cannot stand. The first amendment is under attack in America. Julie K. Brown, who did a good job breaking the Epstein story, but is a partisan hack. She's gone every like we covered Epstein. We have covered Epstein just as aggressively as anybody especially like the substantive allegations against Epstein. We asked her to come on many times to just explain them from the beginning of the launch of this show all the way. She'll never come on. She will not appear because she does she only wants to talk about it in front of leftwing hacks. Um first they came for the journalists. We don't know what happened after that.

11:12 #free donlemon. Here's John Favro from the Pod Save Group. Do we think Nuome's DOJ will start with the Megan Kelly and Matt Walsh types or just make it more efficient by rating Fox and arresting everyone? Then there's Lulu Garcia of the New York Times. OMG, I never thought I'd see this in America. Journalist Don Lemon arrested after protests that disrupted Minnesota church service. I mean, I'm surprised she didn't see this happen because it happened to the tune of six or five or six journalists who were arrested after January 6th, which wasn't that long ago. It did happen. I guess she just didn't think that one was as interesting.

11:57 I hope this becomes a referendum on the First Amendment. I hope so. That's what the left wants to make it because they think that the facts are on their side. They're not. This is a little bit of a hobby horse of mine. I wrote a whole book called Speechless about the limits of the First Amendment and our free speech tradition. A lot of people who are going out blocking traffic, obstructing law enforcement, driving SUVs into cops, they think that all of that activity is protected by some right to protest. It is not. It's that's nowhere in the First Amendment. That's nowhere in our legal tradition. We have the right to peaceibly assemble. We have the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. That's why we have to do so in an orderly way. There are licenses that you have to permits that you have to receive. You know, that's what it's for. and and that all of that is protected. When it comes to

12:41 journalism, when it comes to freedom of speech, we have broad freedom of speech in the country, but there's a lot of speech that's not protected. Speech like obscinity, speech like direct threats, speech like fighting words and so on. Uh you cannot use free speech as a justification to commit additional crimes. you you cannot uh claim that your status as a journalist, whatever that means in the era of the citizen journalist and of the new media, uh gives you some kind of blanket immunity to break the law. That's not true.

13:12 That's never been that what the first amendment means. Uh from the very beginning, immediately almost after the ratification of the constitution, the federal government clarified what sort of speech was off limits and what what kind of speech acts are off limits. So I I think it's great. I think a lot of our our present political ills are because people sincerely have no idea what is actually meant by our free speech tradition and then they go out and commit a bunch of crimes. Whether it means they're going to riot in the streets of Minneapolis in 2020 and 2025 and 26 or whether it means that you're going to invade a church and call it journalism. Yeah, great. Let's make this about the First Amendment. It kind of reminds me of of how uh you know when President Trump went into Venezuela, Nicholas Maduro previously and said, "Come and get me. Come and get me."

13:54 That's what Don Lemon was doing here. It was a game of chicken. He was saying, you know, look, I'm going to I'm going to go right up here. I'm going to break the law, and you guys are too chicken to come and arrest me. So, I think the Trump DOJ had to come in and and enforce the law here.

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Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Don Lemon Enters "Find Out" Phase After Arrest Under the Klan Act, with Michael Knowles"?

Megyn Kelly (Guest), Michael Knowles (Guest).

What is "Don Lemon Enters "Find Out" Phase After Arrest Under the Klan Act, with Michael Knowles" about?

The discussion centers on the arrest of Don Lemon under the Klan Act, with Michael Knowles expressing approval of the arrest as a necessary step for both societal order and Lemon's own rehabilitation. Knowles criticizes the media's role in perpetuating false narratives and emphasizes that Lemon's actions, which allegedly included conspiracy to violate federal law, should result in serious…

What is mentioned in this Megyn Kelly episode?

6 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Don Lemon, Face Act, First Amendment, Megan Kelly, Michael Nolles. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Don Lemon Enters "Find Out" Phase After Arrest Under the Klan Act, with Michael Knowles"?

The episode runs 15 min; the transcript is about 3,090 words in 30 timestamped sections.

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