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Legal representatives acting for a journalist from Chicago's WGN television station who was temporarily detained by federal agents last week describe the event as "something that should concern and frighten each individual in this country".

Particulars of the Detainment

The journalist, a American national and WGN employee, was arrested on the weekend by federal agents during an ICE action in a North Side Chicago area. Footage from the scene depict the producer being forced to the ground by two agents before she is restrained and placed in a van.

At the time, a government spokesperson stated that Brockman "threw objects at border patrol's car" and was "placed under arrest for attacking an officer".

Later on Friday, WGN confirmed that their employee had been released from federal custody and that no accusations had been pressed against her.

Attorney's Reaction

In a news release issued by attorneys acting for Brockman on Tuesday, her representatives disputed the official version. They stated they "strongly refute any allegation that she assaulted anyone" and that "She 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 arrest, Brockman was "not acting in any official role as an staff member for the station" but that she was just "walking to the transit point as part of her morning commute when she was confronted by Border Patrol agents.

"Brockman, who is a American citizen native to the US, was violently detained on Foster Avenue," the release adds. "As this occurred, individuals on the street began recording the incident and asked Ms Brockman her name."

The release indicates that she informed the onlookers her name and that she was employed at the station, in the hopes that "someone would notify her employer so coworkers would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her lawyers said.

Aftermath and Next Steps

According to her legal team, the journalist was held in government detention for about seven hours before being freed.

"The individual has not been charged with any offenses and she plans to pursue all legal avenues open to her to vindicate her rights and hold the federal authorities accountable for their conduct," the statement adds.

"One attorney, a legal representative, added in the release: "If armed, masked, government officers are snatching US citizens off the street as they walk to work and placing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only conceive what these agents must be willing to do to our foreign-born residents and individuals who dare to speak out against them."

"Ms Brockman was forced down, struck, restrained, and her trousers were lowered exposing her uncovered skin," Thomson stated. "Not anyone should be treated like that in this city, in this nation or any other place in the globe."

ICE, the federal agency, and the border agency did not provide a prompt reply to inquiries from the media.