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Attorneys representing a journalist from Chicago's local TV network who was briefly held by federal agents last week describe the incident as "an occurrence that ought to alarm and horrify every person in this nation".

Details of the Detainment

Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and station staff member, was taken into custody on Friday by government officers during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Footage from the location show the producer being pushed down by officers before she is restrained and put in a vehicle.

At the time, a homeland security official stated that Brockman "hurled items at border patrol's car" 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 charges had been pressed against her.

Attorney's Response

In a statement released by lawyers acting for the journalist on earlier this week, her legal team challenged the official version. They stated they "strongly refute any allegation that she attacked anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was physically attacked by officers on her way to work" on the date in question.

Her attorneys say that at the time of the arrest, the journalist was "not performing in any official role as an staff member for the station" but that she was just "heading to the transit point as part of her daily travel when she was attacked by federal officers.

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

The statement says that she told the bystanders her name and that she was employed at WGN, in the hopes that "a person would inform her employer so colleagues would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her lawyers stated.

Aftermath and Legal Action

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

"She has not been accused with any crimes and she plans to explore all legal avenues available to her to uphold her entitlements and hold the federal authorities accountable for their actions," the release adds.

"One attorney, one of her attorneys, commented in the statement: "When equipped, covered, federal agents are taking US citizens off the street as they travel 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 individuals who choose to speak out against them."

"The journalist was taken to the ground, battered, restrained, and her trousers were pulled down exposing her bare buttocks," Thomson stated. "Not anyone should be treated like that in this metropolis, in this country or anywhere else in the world."

ICE, the federal agency, and the border agency did not immediately respond to inquiries from the media.