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Attorneys representing a journalist from Chicago's local TV network who was briefly held by federal agents last week characterize the incident as "an occurrence that ought to alarm and frighten each individual in this country".

Particulars of the Detainment

Debbie Brockman, a American national and WGN employee, was arrested on Friday by federal agents during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement action in a North Side Chicago area. Footage from the location depict Brockman being pushed down by officers before she is handcuffed and placed in a van.

At the time, a government spokesperson claimed that Brockman "hurled items at an official vehicle" and was "detained for attacking an officer".

Subsequently that day, WGN announced that Brockman had been freed from detention and that no charges had been filed against her.

Attorney's Response

In a news release issued by attorneys acting for Brockman on earlier this week, her representatives disputed the government's account. They declared they "strongly refute any claim that she attacked anyone" and that "She was the one who was physically attacked by officers on her way to work" on the date in question.

Her attorneys say that at the time of the arrest, Brockman was "not acting in any official role as an employee for the station" but that she was just "walking to the bus stop as part of her daily travel when she was attacked by federal officers.

"Brockman, who is a US Citizen born in this country, was forcibly held on Foster Avenue," the release adds. "As this happened, individuals on the street began filming the event and inquired her her name."

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

Aftermath and Legal Action

According to her legal team, Brockman was held in federal custody for about several hours before being released.

"She has not been accused with any offenses and she plans to pursue all legal options available to her to vindicate her rights and ensure government accountability for their conduct," the statement notes.

"One attorney, one of her attorneys, commented in the release: "When equipped, covered, government officers are taking US citizens off the street as they walk to work and throwing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only conceive what these officers must be prepared to do to our foreign-born residents and people who dare to protest against them."

"The journalist was taken to the ground, battered, restrained, and her pants were lowered revealing her bare buttocks," the lawyer said. "Not anyone should be handled like that in this metropolis, in this country or any other place in the world."

ICE, the federal agency, and the US Customs and Border Protection did not provide a prompt reply to requests for comment from the media.