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Legal representatives acting for a producer from Chicago's local TV network who was briefly held by government officers last week describe the event as "an occurrence that ought to alarm and horrify each individual in this nation".

Particulars of the Detainment

Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and WGN employee, was taken into custody on the weekend by government officers during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement action in a North Side Chicago area. Videos from the scene depict the producer being pushed down by officers before she is handcuffed and put in a van.

At the moment, a government spokesperson claimed that Brockman "threw objects at an official vehicle" and was "placed under arrest for attacking an officer".

Subsequently that day, the television station announced that Brockman had been released from federal custody and that no charges had been pressed against her.

Legal Team's Reaction

In a statement released by lawyers representing the journalist on earlier this week, her legal team challenged the official version. They declared they "adamantly deny any allegation that she assaulted anyone" and that "She was the one who was violently assaulted by officers on her way to work" on the date in question.

Her attorneys say that at the time of the detainment, Brockman was "not performing in any professional capacity as an staff member for WGN" but that she was just "heading to the bus stop 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 Foster Avenue," the release continues. "As this happened, individuals on the street began filming the event and asked Ms Brockman her name."

The statement indicates that she told the onlookers her name and that she was employed at WGN, in the hopes that "someone would inform her employer so coworkers would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her lawyers said.

Aftermath and Legal Action

Based on her lawyers, Brockman was kept in government detention for about seven hours before being released.

"The individual has not been charged with any crimes and she plans to explore all legal avenues available to her to uphold her rights and hold the federal authorities accountable for their actions," the release notes.

"Brad Thomson, one of her attorneys, commented in the statement: "If equipped, masked, government officers are snatching US citizens off the street as they travel to work and throwing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only imagine what these officers must be prepared to do to our immigrant neighbors and individuals who choose to speak out against them."

"The journalist was taken to the ground, battered, restrained, and her trousers were lowered exposing her uncovered skin," Thomson said. "Not anyone should be handled like that in this metropolis, in this country or anywhere else in the globe."

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