Demanding release of detained journalist Mario Guevara

(September 23, 2025) — Investigative Reporters and Editors joins dozens of organizations in demanding the release of detained journalist Mario Guevara.

Guevara was arrested June 14 in metro Atlanta while covering a protest, then transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, where he remains. He has been detained for more than 100 days — one of the longest periods a journalist has ever been detained in the United States. 

IRE has signed on to a statement with the Committee to Protect Journalists, Free Press, and several other journalism organizations calling for his immediate release.

“Guevara is the only known journalist currently behind bars in the U.S. for his reporting,” the letter states. “The government’s prolonged detention of Guevara sends a chilling message to all journalists, citizens, and residents who record law enforcement, report on government activities, and seek to report the truth. This concerns all of us as a blatant attack on the First Amendment and press freedom. Livestreaming and filming police is not a crime.”

Read the full statement here.