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Attorneys acting for a journalist from the city of Chicago's WGN television station who was temporarily detained by federal agents last week describe the incident as "something that should concern and horrify each individual in this nation".

Details of the Arrest

The journalist, a American national and station staff member, was arrested on the weekend by government officers during an ICE action in a North Side Chicago area. Videos from the scene show the producer being forced to the ground by two agents before she is handcuffed and put in a van.

At the moment, a government spokesperson stated that Brockman "hurled items at an official vehicle" and was "placed under arrest for attacking an officer".

Subsequently that day, the television station announced that their employee had been released from federal custody and that no charges had been filed against her.

Attorney's Response

In a news release released by attorneys acting for the journalist on Tuesday, her legal team challenged the official version. They stated they "adamantly deny any claim that she attacked anyone" and that "She was the one who was physically attacked by officers on her way to work" on the date in question.

Her attorneys explain that at the moment of the arrest, the journalist was "not performing in any professional capacity as an staff member for the station" but that she was just "walking to the transit point as part of her morning commute when she was attacked by federal officers.

"Brockman, who is a US Citizen born in this country, was forcibly held on Foster Avenue," the release continues. "As this occurred, bystanders on the street began recording the incident and inquired her her name."

The statement says that she informed the bystanders her name and that she was employed at the station, in the hopes that "someone would notify her workplace so colleagues would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her attorneys said.

Aftermath and Legal Action

According to her lawyers, the journalist was kept in government detention for about seven hours before being released.

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

"One attorney, a legal representative, commented in the release: "When equipped, covered, government officers are taking US citizens off the street as they travel to work and placing them in non-descript cars, you can only imagine what these agents must be willing to do to our foreign-born residents and people who dare to protest against them."

"The journalist was forced down, battered, restrained, and her trousers were lowered exposing her uncovered skin," the lawyer stated. "Not anyone should be handled like that in this metropolis, in this country or any other place in the world."

ICE, the federal agency, and the US Customs and Border Protection did not provide a prompt reply to requests for comment from news outlets.