Several organizations dedicated to preserving free speech and protecting members of the press are calling for the release of an immigration reporter who was detained while covering a protest in Atlanta earlier this month and is now on track to be deported.
Mario Guevara, an Emmy-award winning Spanish language reporter based in metro Atlanta, was initially charged with improperly entering a roadway, obstruction of law enforcement officers and unlawful assembly, all of which were misdemeanors. An immigrant from El Salvador, Guevara had been a legal resident of the U.S. for more than 20 years. However, the misdemeanor charges after his arrest allowed Immigration and Customs Enforcement to place a detainer on him, paving the way for a potential deportation.
He was later transferred into ICE custody and charged with three additional misdemeanors from the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office for distracted driving, failure to obey a traffic control device and reckless driving, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Body camera footage obtained by the AJC showed Guevara wearing both a helmet and vest marking him as a member of the press as he was arrested, alarming free press advocates. He had been covering a protest against the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
“At the time of his arrest, Guevara was wearing a press vest and clearly identified himself to law enforcement,” Katherine Jacobsen of the nonprofit organization Committee to Protect Journalists wrote in a letter to DeKalb County Chief Executive Officer Lorraine Cochran-Johnson. “Video footage indicates that Guevara was in no way obstructing police activity but rather documenting the protest, a matter of public interest.”