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Attorneys acting for a producer from the city of Chicago's WGN television station who was temporarily detained by federal agents last week characterize the event as "something that should alarm and horrify each individual in this country".

Particulars of the Arrest

Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and station staff member, was arrested 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 handcuffed and placed in a van.

At the moment, a homeland security official claimed that the individual "hurled items at border patrol's car" and was "placed under arrest for attacking an officer".

Subsequently that day, WGN confirmed that their employee had been released from federal custody and that no accusations had been pressed against her.

Attorney's Response

In a statement released by lawyers representing the journalist on earlier this week, her representatives challenged the official version. They stated they "strongly refute any claim that she attacked anyone" and that "She was the one who was violently assaulted by federal agents on her way to work" on the date in question.

Her attorneys explain that at the moment of the arrest, 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.

"The individual, who is a US Citizen native to the US, was forcibly held on Foster Avenue," the statement continues. "As this happened, bystanders on the street began filming the incident and inquired her her name."

The statement indicates that she told the bystanders her name and that she worked at WGN, in the hopes that "a person would notify her workplace so colleagues 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 kept in government detention for about seven hours before being freed.

"She has not been accused with any offenses and she intends to explore all legal options open to her to uphold her entitlements and ensure government accountability for their conduct," the release notes.

"Brad Thomson, one of her attorneys, added in the statement: "If equipped, masked, government officers are taking US citizens off the street as they travel to work and placing them in non-descript cars, you can only conceive what these agents must be willing to do to our immigrant neighbors and people who dare to protest against them."

"The journalist was forced down, battered, restrained, and her pants were lowered revealing her uncovered skin," Thomson said. "Not anyone should be treated like that in this city, in this nation or any other place in the world."

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