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Legal representatives acting for a producer from Chicago's local TV network who was temporarily detained by federal agents last week describe the event as "something that should alarm and horrify every person in this nation".

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. Videos from the scene depict Brockman being pushed down by officers before she is restrained and put in a vehicle.

At the moment, a government spokesperson claimed that the individual "threw objects at border patrol's car" and was "detained for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".

Subsequently that day, the television station confirmed that Brockman had been freed from detention and that no charges had been pressed against her.

Attorney's Response

In a news release released by lawyers acting for the journalist on earlier this week, her legal team disputed the official version. 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 the date in question.

Her lawyers explain that at the time of the arrest, the journalist was "not acting in any official role as an staff member for WGN" but that she was just "walking to the transit point as part of her daily travel 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 happened, bystanders on the street began recording the incident and inquired her her name."

The release indicates 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 arriving at work that day", her lawyers said.

Aftermath and Next Steps

According to her lawyers, the journalist was held in federal custody for about several hours before being freed.

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

"One attorney, a legal representative, added in the statement: "If equipped, covered, federal agents are taking American nationals off the street as they walk to work and throwing them in non-descript cars, you can only conceive what these officers must be willing to do to our foreign-born residents and individuals who choose to speak out against them."

"The journalist was taken to the ground, battered, handcuffed, and her trousers were lowered exposing her uncovered skin," Thomson said. "No one should be handled like that in this city, in this country or any other place in the world."

ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, and the border agency did not immediately respond to inquiries from the media.