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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 describe the incident as "something that should concern and frighten every person in this nation".

Particulars of the Arrest

Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and station staff member, was taken into custody on Friday by government officers during an ICE operation in a North Side Chicago area. Videos from the location depict Brockman being forced to the ground by two agents before she is handcuffed and placed in a van.

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

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

Legal Team's Response

In a news release released by attorneys representing Brockman on Tuesday, her representatives challenged the official version. They stated they "strongly refute any claim that she assaulted anyone" and that "She was the one who was physically attacked by officers on her way to work" on the date in question.

Her lawyers say that at the time of the detainment, Brockman was "not performing in any professional capacity as an staff member for the station" 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 native to the US, was violently detained on Foster Avenue," the release continues. "As this happened, bystanders on the street began recording the event and asked Ms Brockman her name."

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

Consequences and Legal Action

According to her lawyers, the journalist was held in government detention for about seven hours before being released.

"She has not been charged with any offenses and she intends to explore all legal avenues open to her to uphold her entitlements and ensure government accountability for their conduct," the statement adds.

"Brad Thomson, one of her attorneys, added in the statement: "When equipped, masked, government officers are snatching US citizens off the street as they walk to work and throwing them in non-descript cars, 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 revealing her uncovered skin," the lawyer stated. "No one should be handled like that in this metropolis, in this nation or any other place in the globe."

Immigration authorities, the federal agency, and the border agency did not immediately respond to inquiries from news outlets.