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Legal representatives acting for a journalist from Chicago's WGN television station who was briefly held by government officers last week describe the event as "an occurrence that ought to concern and horrify every person in this nation".

Particulars of the Detainment

The journalist, a US citizen and WGN employee, was taken into custody on the weekend by federal agents during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in a North Side Chicago area. Footage from the scene depict the producer being pushed down by officers before she is restrained and put in a van.

At the time, a government spokesperson stated that the individual "threw objects at an official vehicle" and was "placed under arrest for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".

Subsequently that day, the television station announced that their employee had been freed from detention and that no accusations had been pressed against her.

Legal Team's Reaction

In a news release released by lawyers representing the journalist on Tuesday, her representatives challenged the government's account. They stated they "strongly refute any claim that she assaulted anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was violently assaulted by federal agents on her way to work" on the date in question.

Her attorneys explain that at the moment of the detainment, Brockman was "not performing in any professional capacity as an employee for the station" but that she was just "heading to the bus stop as part of her morning commute when she was attacked by Border Patrol agents.

"The individual, who is a US Citizen native to the US, was forcibly held on Foster Avenue," the statement adds. "As this occurred, individuals on the street began filming the event and asked her her name."

The statement indicates that she informed the bystanders 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 arriving at work that day", her lawyers stated.

Consequences and Legal Action

According to her legal team, Brockman was kept in federal custody for about seven hours before being freed.

"The individual has not been accused with any offenses and she intends to explore all legal avenues open to her to uphold her rights and hold the federal authorities accountable for their actions," the release adds.

"Brad Thomson, one of her attorneys, commented in the release: "If armed, covered, government officers are snatching American nationals off the street as they travel to work and throwing them in non-descript cars, 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."

"The journalist was taken to the ground, battered, handcuffed, and her pants were lowered revealing her uncovered skin," the lawyer stated. "Not anyone should be treated like that in this city, in this nation or any other place in the globe."

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