"We are not ready to sit and be quiet. We have to speak up," Fonda said (via TMZ). "Every American who believes in our Constitution has to speak up. Don Lemon is a professional journalist. He and his producer were doing their job, nothing more, nothing less. And he's been arrested. And they'll make up all kinds of defamatory things to say about him; that's what they're doing. That's how autocrats act. We can't fall for it. We have to speak up. When a red line is crossed like this, we cannot be silent."
She added, "I know Don Lemon. My husband created CNN, and I will fight for their right to speak, which is guaranteed in our Constitution. They arrested the wrong Don."
A judge on Friday afternoon ordered Lemon to be released on his own recognizance. Outside the downtown L.A. courthouse, Lemon declared that his arrest would not hamper his work as an independent journalist.
"I have spent my entire career covering the news. I will not stop now," he said. "I will not stop ever. Last night, the DOJ sent a team of federal agents to arrest me in the middle of the night for something that I have been doing for the last 30 years, and that is covering the news. The First Amendment of the Constitution protects me and countless other journalists who do what I do. I stand with all of them, and I will not be silenced. I look forward to my day in court."
Fonda has long been an advocate for Hollywood's most politically outspoken. In October of 2025, she relaunched the Committee for the First Amendment. Started by her father, Henry Fonda, the McCarthy-era initiative was designed to protect against attacks on free speech.
"The McCarthy Era ended when Americans from across the political spectrum finally came together and stood up for the principles in the Constitution against the forces of repression," Fonda said at the time. "Those forces have returned. And it is our turn to stand together in defense of our constitutional rights."
