ICE-detained journalist released after arrest while reporting on 'No Kings' protests

El Salvador native Mario Guevara was arrested while covering a "No Kings" protest and then turned over to ICE detention, where he's been placed in deportation proceedings.
A press freedom group applauded the release of journalist Mario Guevara from immigration detention but continued to raise concerns that the government considers his coverage of a "No Kings" protest last month to be dangerous.
Guevara was released Tuesday from detention in Georgia, following an arrest that generated quick backlash from press freedom and civil rights groups. He was arrested by local officers, turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for detention, and was placed in deportation proceedings.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, which was among groups to protest Guevara's arrest and detention, said in a statement it is "concerned by the government lawyer's argument that livestreaming presented a danger to the public by compromising the integrity and safety of law enforcement activities."
"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," said Katherine Jacobsen, U.S., Canada and Caribbean program coordinator at CPJ.
Guevara's attorney has said his client entered the country legally on a tourist visa, has permission to work in the U.S. and has a pending legal permanent residency application.
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