Tampa photojournalist arrested while covering ICE protest

Anthony Nicotera, Tampa Bay Times on Nov 26, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

A Tampa, Florida, photojournalist was arrested Saturday while covering a protest outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Miami.

Deputies from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office arrested 30 activists from the Sunrise Movement after the protesters blocked the entrance to the Krome North Service Processing Center, according to a news release from the social justice organization. The group said it was protesting to “demand the federal government shut down the facility and release unlawfully detained community members.”

David Decker, 52, was taking photos and video of the demonstration for Zuma Press, News2Share and Creative Loafing. He told the Tampa Bay Times he was arrested despite wearing visible press credentials and informing law enforcement officers he was not part of the protest.

Decker was arrested on charges of trespassing after warning and resisting an officer without violence, according to court records. Both are misdemeanors. He was released on a $500 bond early Monday morning.

Decker had been to the area a few times before as a freelance photojournalist, including for the opening earlier this year of the South Florida immigrant detention center named Alligator Alcatraz.

He also covered ICE protests earlier this year at the Chicago area’s Broadview ICE detention center, where he said he was shot with pepper balls by law enforcement.

On Saturday, Decker had documented an earlier protest by the group at Alligator Alcatraz before they moved to the Krome facility.

Decker’s footage of the demonstration showed the group marching toward the gate at Krome while chanting songs from the Poor People’s Campaign of the 1960s and holding placards denouncing ICE.

The group eventually blocked the entrance to the detention center. Law enforcement from the Florida Highway Patrol and the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office arrived at the scene, and they could be heard issuing warnings that protesters would be arrested if they did not move.

“In my mind, it’s just another day of covering a protest action,” Decker said. “There wasn’t anything in my mind that made me feel like I was going to get arrested.”

He was surprised when law enforcement told him he was being detained alongside the activists. In the footage, he can be heard telling officers that he was not a protester.

“I’m not with them, bro,” Decker said.

A voice can be heard responding, “Well, you’re here. Anybody that’s here.”

Decker said he spent the next several hours in handcuffs while deputies processed those being arrested. He and the protesters were taken to jail, and his car was impounded.

Decker said he was surprised that law enforcement did not seem to make the distinction between journalists and protesters.

“These cops are around press all the time,” he said.

Argemis Colome, a detective with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, told the Tampa Bay Times that deputies ordered the protesters to disperse from the area and arrested them after they would not move.

Asked about Decker’s press credentials and comments to law enforcement that he was not a protester, Colome said Decker will have legal recourse.

“If he doesn’t agree, everybody has their day in court,” Colome said. “That is something that he or an attorney can present.”

Scott McKiernan, the founder of Zuma Press, told the Times he has always seen Decker as a reliable photographer with an eye for story.

“Dave has always been very professional, and he cares about that,” McKiernan said.

In addition to freelance work, Decker operates a multipurpose photography studio in Tampa.

“I believe in putting a lens on these situations,” Decker said. “I feel an obligation to cover both sides of it. Our job is to tell the truth.”

A GoFundMe campaign has raised over $21,000 to help Decker cover the costs of legal assistance, recovering his car and replacing any damaged camera equipment.

He told the Times that one of his immediate priorities is to find legal counsel.

“I’m not an activist protest photographer,” Decker said. “I’m a photographer that documents life.”

_____