Editors note: Taking a cue from Slate , this article describes an American news story the virtually unprecedented prosecution of nearly 200 protesters on felony charges using language the American media typically reserves for news stories written about more repressive countries. Felony charges against American journalists are jarring. Our approach to this story is meant to be as well.

WASHINGTON An American photojournalist swept up in a mass arrest of hundreds of demonstrators conducted by security forces in the nations capital earlier this year during a protest of a regime change ceremony will face a criminal trial here Monday.

Alexei Wood, a 37-year-old freelance photojournalist based in the American southwest, has been charged with multiple felonies. If found guilty, he could face decades inside a mammoth prison system in the worlds most incarcerated nation.