DeKalb County drops charges against journalist arrested during anti-ICE protest

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Mario Guevara, the Salvadoran reporter arrested June 14 during an immigration protest, will not face any charges in DeKalb County.

That announcement came late Wednesday afternoon from Donna Coleman-Stribling, the county’s solicitor general.

“After carefully reviewing the evidence, including video evidence surrounding his arrest, I have concluded that while there is probable cause to support the initial arrest, the evidence is insufficient to sustain a prosecution beyond a reasonable doubt,” Coleman-Stribling said.

Guevara was arrested while filming a protest at the intersection of Chamblee-Dunwoody and Northcrest roads. DeKalb County police charged him with unlawful assembly, obstruction of a law enforcement officer and pedestrian on or along the roadway.

“Given the lack of clear criminal intent by Mr. Guevara to ignore lawful commands, the case is dismissed as charged,” Coleman-Stribling said.

Katherine Guevara, Mario’s daughter, said her father is “staying positive, as always, and remaining hopeful through this situation.”

“We felt relief when the charges were dropped. These are charges that never should have been brought in the first place,” she said. “We hope to have a similar outcome with the Gwinnett County charges and that they do not affect the decision of the bond hearing. Over the next few days, we are prepping for the bond hearing. If there is a favorable decision, he will be released on bond and we will finally have some peace.”

Eight people, including Guevara, were arrested during the protest. DeKalb law enforcement said they had “threatened public safety and disobeyed law enforcement orders.”

Journalist arrested in immigration protests released into ICE custody, sheriff’s office says

Guevara was reporting via livestream at the time of the arrest and can be heard, via police bodycam, telling the arresting officer, “I’m a member of the media.”

Guevara’s attorneys argue the video shows he was complying with officers when arrested.

“He was doing something that he’s done for 20-something years,” Giovanni Diaz, Guevara’s attorney, said after the arrest. “There’s a vast amount of experience he has dealing with situations like this, and he’s never had any issues. Quite the opposite.”

Guevara has been covering immigration in the U.S. for more than two decades, according to Atlanta News First’s sister station, Telemundo Atlanta.

Guevara is still facing charges in Gwinnett County on distracted driving, failure to obey a traffic control device, and reckless driving. He has not been arrested or detained in the county.

The Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office said Guevara “compromised operational integrity and jeopardized the safety of victims” during operations conducted by the department’s Trafficking and Child Exploitation Unit.

Atlanta News First has reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities to determine if Guevara is facing deportation. The agency had said it had detained Guevara following his DeKalb arrest.

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