Guevara v. Francis

Location: Georgia
Status: Ongoing
Last Update: September 5, 2025

What's at Stake

Whether a journalist can be detained on the basis of their livestreaming and reporting on law enforcement activities.

On June 14, 2025, police officers arrested prominent Georgia journalist Mario Guevara as he was reporting on a protest against the Trump administration in the Atlanta area. He was charged with misdemeanor violations that were dropped within days. Nevertheless, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (鈥淚CE鈥) took him into custody, where he remains despite an Immigration Judge鈥檚 determination that he is neither dangerous nor a flight risk and should be released back to his community.

ICE argues that Mr. Guevara should remain in detention specifically because he livestreams and reports on law enforcement activities. The government characterizes his journalism as a danger to society. But documenting law enforcement activity in public is fully protected by the First Amendment, and Mr. Guevara鈥檚 ongoing detention is a retaliatory and unlawful effort to prevent him from continuing his journalism.

We have filed a habeas petition and an emergency motion for preliminary relief challenging Mr. Guevara鈥檚 unconstitutional detention by ICE as a violation of his free speech and due process rights. We request his immediate release from custody so he can return to his family and continue his reporting.

His legal team includes the 红杏视频; 红杏视频 of Georgia; the University of Georgia School of Law鈥檚 First Amendment Clinic; Garland, Samuel & Loeb, P.C.; and Diaz & Gaeta Law, LLC.

Support our on-going litigation and work in the courts

Learn More 红杏视频 the Issues in This Case