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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 event as "an occurrence that ought to alarm and frighten every person in this nation".

Particulars of the Detainment

The journalist, a US citizen and WGN employee, was arrested on the weekend by federal agents during an ICE action in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Videos from the location depict Brockman being forced to the ground by officers before she is handcuffed and placed in a vehicle.

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

Subsequently that day, the television station announced that their employee 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 acting for Brockman on Tuesday, her representatives disputed the official version. They stated they "adamantly deny any claim that she assaulted anyone" and that "She was the one who was physically attacked by federal agents on her way to work" on the date in question.

Her lawyers say that at the time of the detainment, the journalist was "not acting in any professional capacity as an employee 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.

"Brockman, who is a American citizen born in this country, was forcibly held on a city street," the statement adds. "As this happened, bystanders on the street began filming the event and asked her her name."

The release says that she informed the onlookers her name and that she worked at the station, in the hopes that "someone would notify her employer so coworkers would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her attorneys stated.

Aftermath and Next Steps

Based on her legal team, the journalist was held in government detention for about seven hours before being released.

"She has not been accused with any offenses and she intends to explore all legal avenues available to her to uphold her entitlements and hold the federal authorities accountable for their actions," the statement notes.

"One attorney, one of her attorneys, added in the statement: "When armed, masked, federal agents are taking American nationals off the street as they walk to work and throwing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only imagine what these agents must be prepared to do to our foreign-born residents and individuals who choose to speak out against them."

"Ms Brockman was taken to the ground, struck, restrained, and her trousers were lowered exposing her bare buttocks," the lawyer said. "Not anyone should be handled like that in this city, in this country or anywhere else in the world."

ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, and the border agency did not provide a prompt reply to inquiries from news outlets.