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Legal representatives representing a journalist from the city of Chicago's WGN television station who was temporarily detained by government officers last week characterize the event as "something that should concern and horrify every person in this country".

Particulars of the Arrest

Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and WGN employee, was taken into custody on the weekend by federal agents during an ICE action in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Videos from the location show Brockman being forced to the ground by officers before she is restrained and placed in a vehicle.

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

Later on Friday, WGN confirmed that Brockman had been freed from detention and that no accusations had been pressed against her.

Attorney's Reaction

In a news release released by attorneys representing the journalist on earlier this week, her legal team disputed the official version. They declared they "adamantly deny 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 lawyers explain that at the time of the arrest, Brockman was "not acting in any official role as an employee for WGN" but that she was just "walking to the bus stop as part of her morning commute when she was attacked by Border Patrol agents.

"The individual, who is a American citizen born in this country, was violently detained on a city street," the statement continues. "As this happened, individuals on the street began recording the event and inquired her her name."

The release indicates that she informed the bystanders her name and that she worked at WGN, in the hopes that "a person would notify her workplace so colleagues would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her attorneys stated.

Aftermath and Next Steps

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

"She has not been charged with any offenses and she intends to explore all legal avenues available to her to vindicate her entitlements and ensure government accountability for their actions," the release notes.

"One attorney, one of her attorneys, commented in the statement: "If equipped, masked, federal agents are taking American nationals off the street as they travel to work and throwing 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 protest against them."

"Ms Brockman was forced down, battered, restrained, and her pants were lowered exposing her bare buttocks," the lawyer said. "No one should be handled 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 immediately respond to inquiries from news outlets.