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Attorneys representing a producer from the city of Chicago's WGN television station who was briefly held by government officers last week characterize the incident as "an occurrence that ought to concern and frighten each individual in this nation".

Details of the Detainment

Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and WGN employee, was arrested on the weekend by government officers during an ICE action in a North Side Chicago area. Videos from the scene show Brockman being forced to the ground by two agents before she is handcuffed and put in a van.

At the time, a government spokesperson stated that Brockman "hurled items at border patrol's car" and was "placed under arrest for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".

Subsequently that day, the television station confirmed that their employee had been freed from detention and that no charges had been filed against her.

Legal Team's Response

In a statement issued by lawyers acting for the journalist on earlier this week, her legal team disputed the official version. They stated they "adamantly deny any allegation that she attacked anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was violently assaulted by officers on her way to work" on 10 October.

Her attorneys explain that at the time of the detainment, Brockman was "not performing in any professional capacity as an staff member for WGN" but that she was just "heading to the bus stop as part of her morning commute when she was confronted by Border Patrol agents.

"The individual, who is a US Citizen born in this country, was forcibly held on a city street," the release continues. "As this happened, individuals on the street began recording the event and inquired her her name."

The release says that she told the bystanders her name and that she was employed at WGN, in the hopes that "someone would notify her employer so colleagues would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her lawyers said.

Consequences and Legal Action

According to her lawyers, the journalist was held in federal custody for about seven hours before being released.

"The individual has not been accused with any offenses and she intends to pursue all legal options available to her to vindicate her entitlements and hold the federal authorities accountable for their actions," the statement notes.

"One attorney, a legal representative, commented in the release: "If equipped, masked, federal agents are snatching American nationals off the street as they walk to work and throwing them in non-descript cars, you can only imagine what these agents must be prepared to do to our immigrant neighbors and people who dare to protest against them."

"The journalist was taken to the ground, battered, restrained, and her trousers were lowered revealing her bare buttocks," Thomson said. "Not anyone should be treated like that in this metropolis, in this nation or anywhere else in the world."

ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, and the border agency did not immediately respond to inquiries from the media.