A Popular Spanish-Language Journalist Is in ICE Custody After Being Arrested at an Atlanta Protest

Mario Guevara built a following covering immigration arrests around Atlanta. Press freedom groups say police frivolously arrested him while he was covering a "No Kings" protest.

Press freedom groups are calling for the release of a popular Spanish-language journalist who was arrested last Saturday while livestreaming protests in Atlanta and has since been transferred into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Mario Guevara, an Emmy Award–winning reporter, was livestreaming a "No Kings" protest against President Donald Trump in the Atlanta area on Saturday when he was arrested by Doraville Police Department officers. Guevara was charged with obstructing police, unlawful assembly, and improperly entering a roadway, according to court records.

However, Guevara's lawyers and press freedom groups say the charges against him are bogus. Katherine Jacobsen, the U.S., Canada, and Caribbean program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), said in a press release that Guevara's "ongoing detention signals a frightening erosion of press freedom in the U.S." 

"Guevara must be released without delay," Jacobsen said.

Guevara came to the U.S. in 2004 from El Salvador, where he said his work as a photojournalist led to attacks and death threats against him. A judge denied Guevara's asylum application in 2012, but he has been allowed to legally remain in the country on a work permit and has been attempting to gain permanent residency. Several of his family members are U.S. citizens.

"He's been renewing his work authorization," Giobanni Diaz, one of Guevara's attorneys, told Fox 5 Atlanta. "He's a law-abiding member of the community."

Guevara previously reported for several Spanish-language news outlets before launching his own independent outlet, MG News. His on-the-ground coverage of immigration arrests in the Atlanta area has attracted hundreds of thousands of followers on Facebook and TikTok. He's also well-known to local law enforcement.

"It seemed like he was doing exactly what he usually does when he's on the scene," Diaz said.

Shortly before his arrest, Guevara's video shows lines of police in riot gear advancing through a parking lot. Guevara is filming them while moving back when one of the officers suddenly approaches and arrests him.

According to the incident report filed by the officer who arrested Guevara, protesters were fleeing the area after police fired tear gas and issued dispersal orders. The officer saw another officer command Guevara to get off the road and back onto the sidewalk.

The report continues:

Guevara, who was wearing a helmet, red shirt, and ballistic vest, appeared to comply, walking toward the sidewalk while shaking his head in disagreement. Shortly thereafter, I heard Lt. Obester again address Guevara, who had re-entered the roadway, advising him that he had been given multiple warnings and would be arrested if he continued to violate the order. Guevara then walked into the Embry Village Plaza parking lot. I maintained visual contact with Guevara as he moved through the parking lot. I then observed him look around quickly before unlawfully entering Chamblee Tucker Rd after Northcrest Road in front of the Wells Fargo located at 3601 Chamblee Tucker Rd. At that time, I immediately approached Guevara, detained him, and secured him in flex cuffs behind his back.

While the report details Guevara's clothes, it neglects to mention that his vest said "PRESS" in large letters. It also omits what Guevara was doing (filming), and what he said when approached ("Officer, I'm a member of the media.")

Atlanta Civic Circle, a nonprofit newsroom, wrote that its journalists were just several steps away from Guevara when he was arrested.

"Officers clad in riot gear corralled members of the press away from the original protest site on Chamblee Tucker Road shortly after deploying tear gas for a third time," Atlanta Civic Circle reported. "Officers clearly stated that they would arrest journalists as well as protestors if they did not leave. Guevara was complying with officers orders to move back, but was closer to police than other members of the press—including Atlanta Civic Circle reporters who saw him apprehended when he briefly stepped off the sidewalk."

As they did during the 2020 George Floyd protests, federal and local police have repeatedly targeted reporters and citizen journalists with arrests and violence.

Dozens of journalists were assaulted and injured by federal and local law enforcement in Los Angeles during protests earlier this month. Las Vegas police arrested two TikTok livestreamers in the aftermath of a "No Kings" protest after one of them shouted, "How about honor your oath, bitch?"

On Monday a judge granted Guevara bond. However, ICE issued an immigration detainer against him, and he was transferred into ICE custody Wednesday. His current whereabouts are unknown; he does not appear on ICE's online detainee locator.

CPJ also sent a letter Tuesday to the DeKalb County chief executive officer urging them "to recognize Guevara's First Amendment rights as a journalist to document matters of public importance without fear of legal retribution."

According to the organization, it has not received a response.

ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.