A habeas corpus petition seeking the immediate release of journalist Mario Guevara from ICE detention was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Georgia on Wednesday.

The petition stated that the government detained “award-winning journalist” Guevara “in order to retaliate against him for his constitutionally-protected speech and reporting, and to gag him from further speaking and reporting.”

Guevara, who has lived in the US legally since 2004 and founded the Atlanta‑based outlet MG News, was arrested on June 14 while live-streaming a “No Kings” protest in DeKalb County. Guevara fled El Salvador approximately 20 years ago to avoid violence and harassment as a journalist.

At the protest, he stood with other journalists and wore a vest identifying him as press. Initial misdemeanor charges were subsequently dropped, and an immigration judge granted him $7,500 bond on July 1. Nonetheless, ICE kept him detained, citing his live-streaming of law enforcement as a danger to the community. ICE appealed, and a stay remains in effect.

“Journalism is not a threat to the community, it is fundamental to our democracy,” the legal director of the ACLU of Georgia, Cory Isaacson, stated. “Like other Georgia journalists every day, Mario Guevara serves the people of our state with his reporting, and the First Amendment demands that he be able to do so without fear of being locked up in retaliation. Mr. Guevara is detained in violation of his rights to free speech and a free press, and we are hopeful Mr. Guevara will soon be released.”

During Wednesday’s proceedings, US Magistrate Judge Benjamin Cheesbro asked attorneys from both sides to submit additional legal briefs within a week to clarify whether there is a statutory basis for Guevara’s continued ICE detention.

Guevara’s son, Oscar, stated outside the courthouse, “That’s not good news or bad news. It’s just more waiting … I just want my dad out.”