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A Georgia immigration judge granted bond for a Spanish-language journalist who was arrested last month while covering a demonstration in DeKalb County, though his challenges are not over as the federal government is seeking to deport him.
The Associated Press reported that 47-year-old Mario Guevara, a native of El Salvador, was arrested by local police on June 14 while covering a protest in DeKalb County, just outside Atlanta.
Several days after his arrest, local police turned Guevara over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which has kept him in an immigration detention center in Folkston ever since.
Guevara started the digital news outlet MG News nearly a year ago, and on Tuesday, the outlet shared on social media that a judge granted him bond.
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“The immigration judge has granted bail to Mario Guevara,” a post on the outlet’s Facebook feed read. “The immigration process continues but free and in Atlanta.”
The post also thanks Guevara’s attorneys for assisting with the legal process and getting bail for Guevara.
In another post, MG News stated Guevara was able to pay $7,500 bail after his arrest while covering the “No Kings” protest on June 14.
Guevara left El Salvador 20 years ago and has since built a following covering immigration in Atlanta as a journalist.
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At the time of his arrest, Guevara was livestreaming on social media from a DeKalb County “No Kings” rally against President Donald Trump and his administration, when police arrested him.
In video captured by Guevara, the Spanish-speaking journalist is seen wearing a helmet, red shirt and a vest that read “PRESS.” Guevara captured video clips of riot police moving in formation, while he also described the scene in Spanish.
Then, police can be seen on the video approaching Guevara, when he said, “Officer. Officer. I’m a member of the media, officer.”
Guevara’s phone then goes blurry until he asks the officer to pick up his phone because he needs it for work.
DeKalb police charged Guevara with obstruction of police, unlawful assembly and being a pedestrian on the roadway.
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County Solicitor-General Donna Coleman-Stribling dismissed the charges last week, noting that there was not enough evidence to support a prosecution, though there was probable cause to support Guevara’s arrest.
“At the time of his arrest, the video evidence shows Mr. Guevara generally in compliance and does not demonstrate the intent to disregard law enforcement directives,” Coleman-Stribling’s office said in a press release.
At that point, though, Guevara was already in ICE custody.
Guevara had warrants issued for his arrest in connection with charges of distracted driving, failing to obey a traffic control device and reckless driving, which were secured by the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office on June 20.
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The charges stemmed from a May 20 incident that was reported on June 17, the AP reported.
Guevara’s attorney, Giovanni Diaz, has said his client is not a legal resident though he has authorization to work in the U.S. Guevara also has a pending green card application, which was sponsored by his U.S. citizen son, the AP reported.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said on its site that it welcomed the court’s order to release Guevara, adding that the organization is concerned by the prosecution’s argument that livestreaming the protest “presented a danger to the public by compromising the integrity and safety of law enforcement activities.”
“We are heartened to see that Mario Guevara was ordered to be released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody at his bond hearing, though we remain concerned about the arguments the prosecution made that Guevara’s work as a reporter presented a danger to the community,” CPJ U.S., Canada, and Caribbean Program Coordinator Katherine Jacobsen said. “The fact that Guevara was arrested while exercising his First Amendment rights as a journalist and was subsequently held for over two weeks by various law enforcement bodies sends an alarming message to the media and has effectively silenced Guevara’s coverage of his community. We urge law enforcement to thoroughly investigate why Guevara was arrested in the first place.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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