The Committee to Protect Journalists sent a letter on Friday, June 27, to Gwinnett County Solicitor-General Lisamarie N. Bristol in Georgia to express concerns about three misdemeanor charges levied against journalist Mario Guevara. In the letter, CPJ asked Bristol to open an investigation as to why these charges — distracted driving, failure to obey traffic control devices, and reckless driving — were only brought against Guevara approximately one month after the alleged incidents occurred, and after ICE had issued a detainer.
Guevara, an Emmy-winning, Spanish-language reporter who covers immigration on his “MGnews” Facebook page and other social media platforms, was arrested on June 14 while livestreaming a “No Kings” protest against the actions of the Trump administration in an Atlanta suburb. According to video footage of his arrest, Guevara was wearing a press pass and clearly identified himself as a journalist to law enforcement.
The initial charges that led to Guevara’s arrest were dropped by the DeKalb County solicitor-general on June 25 due to insufficient evidence.
Guevara was transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody after the immigration authority issued a detainer against the journalist, who has authorization to work in the United States. At the time of the letter’s publication, Guevara was being held in the Folkston ICE Processing Center, his lawyer told CPJ.
Read the full letter here.
Editor’s note: In an emailed press release, Gwinnett Solicitor-General Lisamarie N. Bristol’s office said on June 30 that three misdemeanor charges filed by the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office did not fall under the jurisdiction of the Solicitor-General’s Office at the time this letter was sent.
“I want to be very clear that my office is not involved in the charges referenced and will not be making any decisions related to their pursuit or dismissal,” the statement said.