The Don Lemon Show

Don sits down with journalist and CNN legal analyst and author of Five Bullets: The Story of Bernie Goetz, New York’s Explosive ’80s, and the Subway Vigilante Trial That Divided the Nation, Elliot Williams to talk about his new book and how its themes echo in today’s chaos. Williams’s Five Bullets revisits the infamous 1984 Bernhard Goetz subway shooting and the divisive trial that followed, exploring race, crime, fear, and how media and politics shaped public perception. As a former federal prosecutor and senior official in the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security, Williams brings a unique perspective on how agencies like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have changed over time. He and Don discuss how enforcement priorities and the lack of humanity or training in some federal agencies today contrast with how law and justice should function, and why understanding history matters now more than ever. This episode is brought to you by OneSkin. Get up to 30% off OneSkin with the code DON at https://www.oneskin.co/DON #oneskinpod This episode is sponsored by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Go to https://FFRF.US/NEW YEAR or text “DON” to Five Eleven Five Eleven. And help protect a country that belongs to all of us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This morning we’re covering the death of an ICE detainee at a detention facility in Texas, another devastating chapter in a pattern that is becoming impossible to ignore. While all the details have not yet been made public, reporting indicates that the medical examiner is likely to classify the death as a homicide, raising urgent and alarming questions. Why are there so many deaths connected to ICE detention facilities? What conditions are people being held in? And why does accountability always seem to vanish when these cases come to light? We’ll break down what is known so far, what remains unclear, and why this incident fits into a broader picture of cruelty, neglect, and lawlessness inside the immigration detention system. Most importantly, we’ll ask the question families and advocates keep asking, will anyone ever be held responsible? This episode is sponsored by ZBiotics. Go to https://zbiotics.com/LEMON and use LEMON at checkout for 15% off any first time orders of ZBiotics probiotics. This episode is sponsored by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Go to https://FFRF.US/NEW YEAR or text “DON” to Five Eleven Five Eleven. And help protect a country that belongs to all of us. This episode is brought to you by Lean. If you want to lose meaningful weight at a healthy pace and keep it off... Add LEAN to your diet and exercise lifestyle. Get 20% OFF WHEN YOU ENTER LEMON at https://TAKELEAN.com This episode is sponsored by Graza. Take your food to the next level with Graza Olive Oil. Visit https://graza.co/LEMON and use promo code LEMON today for 20% off your first order! This episode is brought to you by OneSkin. Get up to 30% off OneSkin with the code DON at https://www.oneskin.co/DON #oneskinpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don sits down with Rep. John Garamendi to take a deep look at the pressing crises facing the nation right now. They start with the fallout from the ongoing ICE violence in Minneapolis and across the country, including multiple federal shootings that have left communities outraged and demanding answers, and discuss the lack of transparency and accountability surrounding these enforcement actions. They break down Trump’s threats to use the Insurrection Act and deploy military force domestically to what these kinds of unchecked powers mean for civil liberties, democratic norms, and the rule of law. But what can lawmakers in Washington actually do to fight back? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tonight we’re digging into the ongoing federal violence around ICE enforcement across the country, and the latest developments are truly horrifying. The brutal shooting of Renée Nicole Good in Minneapolis sparked protests and outrage nationwide. But it didn’t stop there. Federal tactics continue to escalate: another person was shot by a federal agent in Minneapolis during a confrontation, and a 21-year-old protester was permanently blinded after being struck in the face at a demonstration in California. This feels less like enforcement and more like state-sanctioned terror, and the question everyone is asking is the same: when will this end? How far can these agents go without any consequences? And perhaps most painfully, will anyone ever be held accountable for these horrific actions? This episode is sponsored by ZBiotics. Go to https://zbiotics.com/LEMON and use LEMON at checkout for 15% off any first time orders of ZBiotics probiotics. This episode is sponsored by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Go to https://FFRF.US/NEW YEAR or text “DON” to Five Eleven Five Eleven. And help protect a country that belongs to all of us. This episode is brought to you by Lean. If you want to lose meaningful weight at a healthy pace and keep it off... Add LEAN to your diet and exercise lifestyle. Get 20% OFF WHEN YOU ENTER LEMON at https://TAKELEAN.com This episode is sponsored by Graza. Take your food to the next level with Graza Olive Oil. Visit https://graza.co/LEMON and use promo code LEMON today for 20% off your first order! This episode is brought to you by OneSkin. Get up to 30% off OneSkin with the code DON at https://www.oneskin.co/DON #oneskinpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don sits down with journalist and friend of the show Ahmed Baba to make sense of the chaos we’re living in right now. They talk frankly about ICE and its increasingly inhumane and cruel practices, how fear and intimidation are being normalized, and what that means for communities across the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices