#MarioGuevara, the influential Spanish-language #journalist who livestreamed his own #arrest at a weekend #protest outside #Atlanta, will now have to fight in #immigration court for his right to remain in the country & ward off #deportation.
#law #democracy #FreePress #TargetedArrests #Trump #Gestapo #ICE
https://www.ajc.com/news/2025/06/hispanic-reporter-arrested-at-protest-now-in-ice-custody-faces-deportation/
#MarioGuevara, an #immigrant from #ElSalvador, …built a mass following on social media through his work documenting #ICE raids…[is now in #ICE custody.].
It is not clear where Guevara is being held.
Online records show that Guevara was released from the DeKalb County Jail, where he was detained following his arrest at the #protest, at 7:35AM Wednesday.
#law #immigration #democracy #FreePress #TargetedArrests #Trump #Gestapo
A local judge had granted Guevara a bond Monday, but the #journalist remained in #detention because #ICE had issued a detainer, formally requesting the DeKalb #jail hold Guevara for at least 48 more hours to give #immigration agents time to pick him up.
It now appears the pickup occurred earlier Wednesday morning, mere hours before the detainer was set to expire.
At a news conference Tues, Giovanni Diaz, one of Guevara’s attorneys, said that if his client was taken into #ICE custody he would likely spend some time at the agency’s downtown field office before being transferred to one of 2 South Georgia #immigrant #jails: the Stewart Detention Center or the Folkston ICE Processing Center.
Diaz added that Georgia’s immigrant #detention facilities are “overwhelmed.”
#law #immigration #democracy #FreePress #TargetedArrests #Trump #Gestapo
“People are sleeping on the floor. Some #detention centers don’t have enough food,” he said. “My job is to try to get people out of those hellholes. So, it’s not fun. If anybody could handle it & be in good spirits, it’s Mario.…I think somebody like him who’s faith driven & mission driven is somebody who’s prepared to handle whatever those conditions may be.”
Guevara’s case has drawn widespread attention, including from an international nonprofit that defends the rights of #journalists.
In a statement, Katherine Jacobsen of the Cmte to Protect #Journalists said she was “outraged” by Guevara’s treatment & called for his immediate release.
Jacobsen called his #detention “a crude form of #censorship.”
At the Tues news conference, Guevara’s daughter—Katherine Guevara, 27—said it was “terrifying” to learn that #ICE was targeting her father.
“We’ve always been very, very close. And I just couldn’t believe it,” she said.
Local police charged #MarioGuevara with 3 misdemeanors for his behavior at the pro #ImmigrantsRights #protest: obstruction of law enforcement, unlawful assembly & pedestrian walking on or along a roadway.
In #arrest warrants obtained by AJC, Doraville #police *said* the #journalist ignored repeated instructions to stay off the street & to leave the site of the protest after it was declared an unlawful assembly.
#law #immigration #democracy #RightToProtest #FreedomOfAssembly #FreePress #Trump
In Diaz’s view, Guevara’s livestream shows him acting compliant & respectful around law enforcement.
“He didn’t do anything illegal. The only thing he was doing was documenting the police’s actions. So, why was he arrested?” he said at Tuesday’s news conference. “He has always complied with the #law. His record is impeccable in this country. So, this #arrest is concerning.”
#immigration #democracy #RightToProtest #FreedomOfAssembly #FreePress #Trump #Gestapo #ICE
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LuIeuijP32I
Nonilex