Latest news with #MarioGuevara
Axios
6 days ago
- Politics
- Axios
Family, advocacy groups call on ICE to free detained Atlanta reporter
Katherine Guevara spent years watching her father, Mario Guevara, help others through his work as a reporter. Zoom in: Her father chased stories that mattered to Atlanta's Hispanic residents, not for recognition, but because journalism was a form of service, she said. "For more than 20 years, I have witnessed his unwavering dedication and selfless commitment to serving the community," she said. But for the last 41 days, Mario Guevara has been unable to pursue leads since his June 14 arrest while covering a protest against immigration enforcement tactics in DeKalb County. Why it matters: Guevara, a native of El Salvador who faces deportation from the country, is the only journalist in the U.S. currently detained after an arrest in connection with his work as a reporter, said Katherine Jacobsen, a program coordinator for Committee to Protect Journalists. "This case ... sends a clear, chilling message to reporters, especially those in this country who are not U.S. citizens, that they too could very well find themselves at risk in the same way Mario has," Jacobsen said during a press conference Tuesday. The latest: Guevara's daughter and son, Oscar, were joined by their father's attorney, Democratic state lawmakers and other advocacy organizations calling for the reporter's release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention. State Sen. Josh McLaurin (D-Sandy Springs) said Tuesday the constitutional right to freedom of speech and the press isn't about whether "you agree with someone's opinions [or] the substance of their reporting." "It's about their right to collect information and disseminate that information to communities who rely on it to make deliberative, informed decisions about their democracy," he said. What they're saying: Nora Benavidez, a member of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation, said Guevara's case is "emblematic of the disturbing path that the United States is on." "If the exercise of those rights is now penalized like it is with Mario Guevara simply because those in power dislike the message or the messenger, that means that our basic freedoms are not free." Catch up quick: Guevara, a prominent Spanish-speaking journalist who runs the independent media outlet MG News, was charged with obstruction, pedestrian walking in or along a roadway and unlawful assembly while covering a protest on Chamblee Tucker Road. Federal immigration officials placed a hold on his detention at the DeKalb County Jail, meaning they would take him into custody once he was released from the facility. He was released from the DeKalb County Jail on June 18, but the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office charged him with misdemeanor traffic offenses stemming from an incident that happened about a month before his arrest. Both DeKalb and Gwinnett counties dropped charges against Guevara, but his attorney Giovanni Diaz said his client's phone was seized by the Gwinnett sheriff's office when they executed a search warrant. An immigration judge has ordered Guevara released on a $7,500 bond, but the federal government has appealed that ruling, meaning he remains at the immigration detention facility in Folkston.
The Guardian
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Atlanta reporter detained by Ice ‘punished for his journalism', rights groups say
Mario Guevara, a Salvadoran journalist imprisoned in a south Georgia immigration detention center after being arrested covering a 'No Kings Day' protest in June, is being 'punished for his journalism', first amendment rights groups said. 'The charges were dropped, yet he remains detained by Ice,' said José Zamora, the regional director for the Americas at the Committee to Protect Journalists, during a press conference on Tuesday morning at the Georgia capitol with Guevara's attorneys and family. 'Let's be clear, Mario is being punished for his journalism. He is now the only journalist in prison in the US in direct retaliation for his reporting.' A police officer from the city of Doraville in north DeKalb county arrested Guevara on 14 June on misdemeanor charges of pedestrian in the roadway, failure to disperse and obstruction while Guevara was covering a protest in an immigrant-heavy neighborhood. Guevara is widely followed by a Spanish-speaking audience for his coverage of immigration raids in Georgia, and more than 1 million people were watching his livestream on Facebook when he was arrested. Guevara, a native of El Salvador, has been in the US for more than 20 years. While his petition for asylum was rejected in 2012, his deportation was administratively closed in an appeal, and he has both a work permit and a pending application for a green card, his attorney Giovanni Diaz said. Though charges from the protest were quickly dropped, the sheriff of nearby Gwinnett county laid a second set of unrelated misdemeanor traffic charges shortly after Guevara's arrest. The Gwinnett county solicitor subsequently dropped those charges as well, but not before Gwinnett's sheriff's office seized his cell phone with a search warrant. Guevara's cell phone has not been returned, and it is unclear where it is, what data has been transferred from it or whether that data has been shared with federal agencies, Diaz said. 'Everybody's saying we don't see a warrant in the system,' Diaz said, describing his office's inquiries with the sheriff and other agencies. 'So, one of two things happened. Some other agency that hasn't contacted us took it – US attorney's [office], Ice, somebody else has it – or the phone was just plain stolen. 'I think it's par for the course, considering the government's conduct in this case. We're doing this, at least initially, to see if we get the phone back, but again, if they don't give the phone back, its another reason to file a lawsuit in federal court.' Guevara's family was forced to make an extortion payment after another inmate threatened him while he was briefly held in general population in the federal prison in Atlanta. Guevara is now being held in isolation, which may help protect him, but also limits his ability to report on conditions at the Folkston immigration center, set to become the largest Ice detention center in the US. 'With every day that passes, we are losing time that we will never get back,' said his daughter Katherine Guevara. 'I know so many others in the same situation understand it all too well. I'm deeply disappointed with this country. This is not just about one journalist. This is about what kind of country we want to be. If a government can punish a reporter for doing his job, what message does this send? What protections are left for the rest of us?'
The Guardian
22-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Atlanta reporter detained by Ice ‘punished for his journalism', rights groups say
Mario Guevara, a Salvadoran journalist imprisoned in a south Georgia immigration detention center after being arrested covering a 'No Kings Day' protest in June, is being 'punished for his journalism', first amendment rights groups said. 'The charges were dropped, yet he remains detained by Ice,' said José Zamora, the regional director for the Americas at the Committee to Protect Journalists, during a press conference on Tuesday morning at the Georgia capitol with Guevara's attorneys and family. 'Let's be clear, Mario is being punished for his journalism. He is now the only journalist in prison in the US in direct retaliation for his reporting.' A police officer from the city of Doraville in north DeKalb county arrested Guevara on 14 June on misdemeanor charges of pedestrian in the roadway, failure to disperse and obstruction while Guevara was covering a protest in an immigrant-heavy neighborhood. Guevara is widely followed by a Spanish-speaking audience for his coverage of immigration raids in Georgia, and more than 1 million people were watching his livestream on Facebook when he was arrested. Guevara, a native of El Salvador, has been in the US for more than 20 years. While his petition for asylum was rejected in 2012, his deportation was administratively closed in an appeal, and he has both a work permit and a pending application for a green card, his attorney Giovanni Diaz said. Though charges from the protest were quickly dropped, the sheriff of nearby Gwinnett county laid a second set of unrelated misdemeanor traffic charges shortly after Guevara's arrest. The Gwinnett county solicitor subsequently dropped those charges as well, but not before Gwinnett's sheriff's office seized his cell phone with a search warrant. Guevara's cell phone has not been returned, and it is unclear where it is, what data has been transferred from it or whether that data has been shared with federal agencies, Diaz said. 'Everybody's saying we don't see a warrant in the system,' Diaz said, describing his office's inquiries with the sheriff and other agencies. 'So, one of two things happened. Some other agency that hasn't contacted us took it – US attorney's [office], Ice, somebody else has it – or the phone was just plain stolen. 'I think it's par for the course, considering the government's conduct in this case. We're doing this, at least initially, to see if we get the phone back, but again, if they don't give the phone back, its another reason to file a lawsuit in federal court.' Guevara's family was forced to make an extortion payment after another inmate threatened him while he was briefly held in general population in the federal prison in Atlanta. Guevara is now being held in isolation, which may help protect him, but also limits his ability to report on conditions at the Folkston immigration center, set to become the largest Ice detention center in the US. 'With every day that passes, we are losing time that we will never get back,' said his daughter Katherine Guevara. 'I know so many others in the same situation understand it all too well. I'm deeply disappointed with this country. This is not just about one journalist. This is about what kind of country we want to be. If a government can punish a reporter for doing his job, what message does this send? What protections are left for the rest of us?'
Washington Post
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Family, supporters urge release of Spanish-language journalist in ICE custody
ATLANTA — A Spanish-language journalist who was arrested while covering a protest just outside Atlanta last month and is being held in a federal immigration jail felt a duty to help those whose voices often go unheard, his children said Tuesday. Police in DeKalb County arrested Mario Guevara while he was covering a protest on June 14, and he was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement a few days later . An immigration judge set a $7,500 bond for him earlier this month, but that ruling has been put on hold while the government appeals it. For now, Guevara is being held in an immigration detention center in Folkston, in southeast Georgia, near the Florida border and a five-hour drive from his family in suburban Atlanta. Katherine Guevara, 27, said that for more than 20 years she has watched her father's 'unwavering dedication and selfless commitment to serving the Hispanic community.' 'He chased stories that mattered, stories that told the truth about immigration, injustice, about people who usually go ignored,' she said during a news conference at the Georgia state Capitol. Guevara, 47, fled El Salvador two decades ago and drew a big audience as a journalist in the Atlanta area. He worked for Mundo Hispanico, a Spanish-language newspaper, for years before starting a digital news outlet called MG News a year ago. He was livestreaming video on social media from a 'No Kings' rally protesting President Donald Trump's administration when local police arrested him in DeKalb County. Guevara frequently arrives on the scene where ICE or other law enforcement agencies are active, often after getting tips from community members. He regularly livestreams what he's seeing on social media. 'Growing up, I didn't always understand why my dad was so obsessed with his work, why he'd jump up and leave dinner to chase down a story. But now I do,' said Oscar Guevara, 21, who now works as a photojournalist for MG News. Guevara's children were joined at the news conference by members of civil rights and press freedom groups, as well as state lawmakers. 'Mario Guevara is journalist and so his detention raises even bigger questions, about civil rights, constitutional rights, the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press,' state Sen. Josh McLaurin said. Giovanni Diaz, one of Guevara's lawyers, said he and the family have been speaking to Guevara regularly. He said Guevara is doing well but has 'been shaken to his core' because he believes he's being unfairly punished by a country he loves so much. 'He is still smiling. He's in good spirits. And he's in it for the fight, and so are we,' Diaz said. Guevara is 'essentially in isolation,' Diaz said, adding that ICE has said that it's for his own safety since he's a public figure and his reporting style was sometimes controversial. But being kept alone, 'that wears on you,' Diaz said. An immigration judge agreed with Guevara's lawyers that the journalist is not a danger to the community, but ICE is arguing he's such a threat that he shouldn't be released, Diaz said. The lawyer said he's optimistic that the Board of Immigration Appeals will decide in Guevara's favor and he will be able to post bond, allowing him to be free while he fights the government's efforts to deport him. Guevara has been authorized to work and remain in the country, Diaz said. A previous immigration case against him was administratively closed more than a decade ago, and he has a pending green card application. Video from his arrest shows Guevara wearing a bright red shirt under a protective vest with 'PRESS' printed across his chest. He could be heard telling a police officer, 'I'm a member of the media, officer.' He was standing on a sidewalk with other journalists, with no sign of big crowds or confrontations around him, moments before he was taken away. Police charged Guevara with unlawful assembly, obstruction of police and being a pedestrian on or along the roadway. His lawyers worked to get him released and he was granted bond in DeKalb, but ICE had put a hold on him and he was held until they came to pick him up. DeKalb County Solicitor-General Donna Coleman-Stribling on June 25 dismissed the charges, saying that video showed that Guevara was 'generally in compliance and does not demonstrate the intent to disregard law enforcement directives.' The sheriff's office in neighboring Gwinnett County announced on June 20, once Guevara was already in ICE custody, that it had secured warrants against him on charges of distracted driving, failure to obey a traffic control device and reckless driving. Gwinnett County Solicitor-General Lisamarie Bristol announced July 10 that she would not pursue those charges.
Toronto Star
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Family, supporters urge release of Spanish-language journalist in ICE custody
ATLANTA (AP) — A Spanish-language journalist who was arrested while covering a protest just outside Atlanta last month and is being held in a federal immigration jail felt a duty to help those whose voices often go unheard, his children said Tuesday. Police in DeKalb County arrested Mario Guevara while he was covering a protest on June 14, and he was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement a few days later. An immigration judge set a $7,500 bond for him earlier this month, but that ruling has been put on hold while the government appeals it.
