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Legal representatives acting for a journalist from Chicago's WGN television station who was briefly held by federal agents last week characterize the incident as "something that should alarm and horrify every person in this country".

Particulars of the Arrest

Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and station staff member, was taken into custody on the weekend by government officers during an ICE operation in a North Side Chicago area. Videos from the location show the producer being pushed down by officers before she is handcuffed and placed in a van.

At the moment, a government spokesperson claimed that the individual "hurled items at border patrol's car" and was "detained for attacking an officer".

Later on Friday, 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 issued by attorneys acting for the journalist on earlier this week, her representatives challenged the government's account. They stated they "strongly refute any allegation 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 detainment, the journalist was "not acting in any official role as an employee for the station" 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 a city street," the statement adds. "As this happened, individuals on the street began recording the event and asked Ms Brockman her name."

The release indicates that she informed the onlookers her name and that she worked at the station, in the hopes that "a person would inform her workplace so colleagues would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her attorneys said.

Consequences and Legal Action

According to her lawyers, Brockman was held in federal custody for about several hours before being released.

"She has not been charged with any crimes and she intends to pursue all legal avenues open to her to vindicate her entitlements and ensure government accountability for their actions," the statement adds.

"One attorney, one of her attorneys, commented in the statement: "If equipped, covered, government officers are taking US citizens off the street as they walk to work and throwing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only imagine what these officers must be willing to do to our foreign-born residents and people who choose to speak out against them."

"Ms Brockman was forced down, struck, handcuffed, and her pants were lowered revealing her bare buttocks," the lawyer said. "No one should be treated like that in this city, in this country or anywhere else in the world."

ICE, the federal agency, and the border agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment from news outlets.