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Attorneys representing a journalist from Chicago's WGN television station who was temporarily detained by government officers last week describe the event as "something that should concern and horrify every person in this nation".

Particulars of the Detainment

The journalist, a American national and WGN employee, was arrested on the weekend by federal agents during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in a North Side Chicago area. Videos from the location show the producer being forced to the ground by two agents before she is handcuffed and placed in a van.

At the moment, a government spokesperson stated that the individual "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 freed from detention and that no accusations had been pressed against her.

Attorney's Response

In a statement released by attorneys acting for Brockman on earlier this week, her legal team challenged the government's account. They declared they "adamantly deny any claim that she assaulted anyone" and that "She was the one who was physically attacked by officers on her way to work" on 10 October.

Her lawyers say that at the moment of the arrest, Brockman was "not performing in any official role as an staff member for WGN" but that she was just "walking to the transit point as part of her morning commute when she was attacked by federal officers.

"Brockman, who is a US Citizen native to the US, was forcibly held on Foster Avenue," the release continues. "As this happened, individuals on the street began filming the incident and inquired Ms Brockman her name."

The release indicates that she told the bystanders her name and that she was employed at WGN, in the hopes that "someone would inform her workplace so colleagues would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her lawyers stated.

Consequences and Next Steps

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 pursue all legal options available to her to vindicate her entitlements and hold the federal authorities accountable for their conduct," the statement adds.

"One attorney, a legal representative, added in the release: "When armed, covered, government officers are snatching US citizens off the street as they travel to work and placing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only conceive what these officers must be prepared to do to our immigrant neighbors and people who dare to speak out against them."

"The journalist was forced down, struck, handcuffed, and her trousers were pulled down revealing her bare buttocks," Thomson said. "No one should be treated like that in this city, in this nation or anywhere else in the world."

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