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Attorneys acting for a journalist from the city of Chicago's WGN television station 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 nation".

Details of the Arrest

Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and WGN employee, was arrested on the weekend by government officers during an ICE operation in a North Side Chicago area. Footage from the location show the producer being forced to the ground by two agents before she is handcuffed and placed in a vehicle.

At the time, a government spokesperson stated that the individual "threw objects at an official vehicle" and was "detained for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".

Later on Friday, WGN confirmed that Brockman had been released from federal custody and that no charges had been pressed against her.

Attorney's Reaction

In a news release issued by attorneys representing Brockman on earlier this week, her legal team disputed the government's account. They stated they "strongly refute any claim that she attacked anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was violently assaulted by federal agents on her way to work" on 10 October.

Her lawyers say that at the moment of the arrest, Brockman was "not acting in any professional capacity as an employee for the station" but that she was just "heading to the transit point as part of her morning commute when she was confronted by federal officers.

"The individual, who is a American citizen native to the US, was forcibly held on a city street," the release continues. "As this happened, individuals on the street began recording the incident and inquired Ms Brockman her name."

The statement indicates that she told the bystanders her name and that she was employed at the station, in the hopes that "someone would notify her workplace so colleagues would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her attorneys stated.

Consequences and Legal Action

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

"The individual has not been charged with any crimes and she plans to explore all legal avenues open to her to uphold her rights and ensure government accountability for their conduct," the release adds.

"Brad Thomson, one of her attorneys, commented in the statement: "If armed, covered, federal agents are snatching US citizens off the street as they travel to work and placing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only conceive what these officers must be willing to do to our foreign-born residents and people who dare to protest against them."

"Ms Brockman was forced down, battered, restrained, and her trousers were lowered exposing her uncovered skin," Thomson said. "Not anyone should be handled like that in this city, in this country or anywhere else in the globe."

ICE, the federal agency, and the border agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the media.