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Legal representatives acting for a journalist from Chicago's WGN television station who was briefly held by government officers last week characterize the event as "something that should concern and horrify each individual in this country".

Particulars of the Detainment

Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and WGN employee, was taken into custody on the weekend by federal agents during an ICE action in a North Side Chicago area. Footage from the location show the producer being pushed down by officers before she is restrained and placed in a vehicle.

At the time, a homeland security official stated that Brockman "hurled items at border patrol's car" and was "detained for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".

Later on Friday, the television station announced that Brockman had been released from federal custody and that no accusations had been filed against her.

Attorney's Reaction

In a statement released by attorneys acting for the journalist on Tuesday, her legal team challenged the government's account. They stated they "adamantly deny any allegation that she attacked 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 arrest, Brockman was "not acting in any official role as an staff member for the station" but that she was just "walking to the transit point as part of her daily travel when she was attacked by Border Patrol agents.

"The individual, who is a US Citizen born in this country, was violently detained on a city street," the statement adds. "As this happened, bystanders on the street began filming the incident and inquired her her name."

The statement says that she informed the onlookers her name and that she was employed at WGN, in the hopes that "a person would inform her workplace so coworkers would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her lawyers stated.

Aftermath and Next Steps

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

"The individual has not been charged with any crimes and she intends to pursue all legal avenues open to her to uphold her rights and hold the federal authorities accountable for their actions," the statement notes.

"Brad Thomson, one of her attorneys, commented in the release: "When armed, masked, government officers are taking US citizens off the street as they walk to work and placing them in non-descript cars, you can only conceive 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 forced down, struck, restrained, and her trousers were lowered revealing her uncovered skin," Thomson stated. "No one should be handled like that in this city, in this nation or anywhere else in the globe."

Immigration authorities, the Department of Homeland Security, and the border agency did not provide a prompt reply to requests for comment from news outlets.