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Attorneys representing a journalist from Chicago's WGN television station who was temporarily detained by federal agents last week characterize the event as "something that should alarm and frighten each individual in this country".

Details of the Arrest

Debbie Brockman, a American national and station staff member, was arrested on Friday by government officers during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement action in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Videos from the scene show the producer being forced to the ground by two agents before she is restrained and placed in a vehicle.

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

Later on Friday, the television station announced that their employee had been freed from detention and that no charges had been pressed against her.

Attorney's Response

In a news release issued by attorneys representing Brockman on earlier this week, her legal team disputed the official version. They stated they "adamantly deny any allegation that she assaulted anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was physically attacked by federal agents on her way to work" on the date in question.

Her attorneys say that at the time of the arrest, the journalist was "not acting in any professional capacity as an employee for WGN" but that she was just "walking to the bus stop as part of her daily travel when she was confronted by Border Patrol agents.

"Brockman, who is a US Citizen native to the US, was violently detained on a city street," the statement adds. "As this happened, individuals on the street began recording the event and asked her her name."

The statement says that she told the bystanders her name and that she was employed at the station, in the hopes that "someone would notify her workplace so colleagues would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her lawyers said.

Consequences and Next Steps

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

"The individual has not been accused with any crimes and she plans to explore all legal avenues open to her to uphold her rights and ensure government accountability for their conduct," the statement adds.

"Brad Thomson, one of her attorneys, commented in the release: "If armed, covered, government officers are taking American nationals off the street as they walk to work and throwing them in non-descript cars, you can only imagine what these agents must be prepared to do to our foreign-born residents and people who dare to protest against them."

"The journalist was forced down, struck, handcuffed, and her trousers were lowered exposing her bare buttocks," the lawyer stated. "No one should be handled like that in this city, in this country or any other place in the globe."

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