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Attorneys acting for a producer from the city of Chicago's WGN television station who was briefly held by federal agents last week characterize the incident as "something that should alarm and horrify each individual in this nation".

Details of the Detainment

Debbie Brockman, a American national and station staff member, was arrested on the weekend by federal agents during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement action in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Videos from the scene show the producer being pushed down by officers before she is restrained and placed in a van.

At the time, a government spokesperson claimed that Brockman "hurled items at an official vehicle" and was "detained for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".

Subsequently that day, the television station announced that Brockman had been released from federal custody and that no accusations had been pressed against her.

Attorney's Reaction

In a news release issued by lawyers acting for Brockman on earlier this week, her legal team challenged the government's account. They declared they "adamantly deny any claim that she attacked anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was physically attacked by officers on her way to work" on the date in question.

Her lawyers explain that at the time of the detainment, Brockman was "not performing in any professional capacity as an employee for WGN" but that she was just "walking to the bus stop as part of her morning commute when she was confronted by federal officers.

"The individual, who is a US Citizen native to the US, was violently detained on Foster Avenue," the release adds. "As this occurred, bystanders on the street began filming the incident and asked Ms Brockman her name."

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

Consequences and Legal Action

Based on her legal team, Brockman was kept in government detention for about several hours before being released.

"She has not been accused with any crimes and she intends to pursue all legal options open to her to vindicate her entitlements and ensure government accountability for their actions," the statement adds.

"One attorney, one of her attorneys, added in the statement: "If equipped, covered, federal agents are snatching US citizens off the street as they travel to work and throwing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only conceive what these agents must be prepared to do to our immigrant neighbors and individuals who dare to speak out against them."

"The journalist was forced down, battered, handcuffed, and her pants were pulled down exposing her uncovered skin," Thomson stated. "Not anyone should be handled like that in this city, in this nation or any other place in the globe."

Immigration authorities, the federal agency, and the US Customs and Border Protection did not provide a prompt reply to inquiries from the media.