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Attorneys acting for a journalist from Chicago's local TV network who was briefly held by government officers last week describe the incident as "an occurrence that ought to concern and horrify each individual in this nation".

Particulars of the Detainment

The journalist, a American national 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 forced to the ground by officers before she is restrained and placed in a van.

At the moment, a government spokesperson stated that Brockman "hurled items at border patrol's car" and was "detained 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 charges had been pressed against her.

Legal Team's Reaction

In a statement issued by lawyers acting for Brockman on earlier this week, her representatives disputed the government's account. They declared they "adamantly deny any allegation 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 say that at the moment of the arrest, Brockman was "not acting 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 confronted by federal officers.

"The individual, who is a US Citizen born in this country, was forcibly held on a city street," the release continues. "As this occurred, individuals on the street began filming the event and inquired her her name."

The statement indicates that she told the onlookers her name and that she was employed 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 legal team, Brockman was kept in federal custody for about seven hours before being freed.

"She has not been charged with any crimes and she intends to explore all legal options available to her to vindicate her entitlements and hold the federal authorities accountable for their actions," the release notes.

"Brad Thomson, a legal representative, commented in the release: "If armed, masked, 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 officers must be prepared to do to our foreign-born residents and people who dare to speak out against them."

"The journalist was taken to the ground, struck, restrained, and her trousers were pulled down revealing her uncovered skin," Thomson said. "Not anyone should be handled like that in this city, in this nation or any other place in the globe."

Immigration authorities, the federal agency, and the US Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the media.