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Attorneys representing a producer from the city of Chicago's local TV network who was temporarily detained by federal agents last week characterize the incident as "an occurrence that ought to alarm and frighten each individual in this country".

Particulars of the Arrest

The journalist, a US citizen and WGN employee, was taken into custody on Friday by government officers during an ICE action in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Footage from the scene depict Brockman being pushed down by two agents before she is handcuffed and placed in a vehicle.

At the time, 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 released from federal custody and that no charges had been pressed against her.

Legal Team's Reaction

In a news release issued by lawyers representing Brockman on earlier this week, her representatives disputed the government's account. They stated they "adamantly deny any allegation that she attacked anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was physically attacked by federal agents on her way to work" on 10 October.

Her attorneys explain that at the time of the detainment, the journalist was "not acting in any official role as an employee 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.

"Brockman, who is a American citizen native to the US, was violently detained on a city street," the release adds. "As this occurred, bystanders on the street began filming the incident and asked Ms Brockman her name."

The release says that she told the onlookers her name and that she worked at the station, in the hopes that "someone would notify her employer so colleagues would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her lawyers stated.

Consequences and Next Steps

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

"The individual has not been accused with any offenses and she plans to explore all legal avenues available to her to vindicate her entitlements and hold the federal authorities accountable for their actions," the statement adds.

"Brad Thomson, a legal representative, added in the statement: "If armed, masked, federal agents 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 prepared to do to our foreign-born residents and individuals who choose to protest against them."

"Ms Brockman was forced down, battered, restrained, and her trousers were pulled down exposing her bare buttocks," the lawyer said. "No one should be handled like that in this city, in this country or any other place in the world."

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