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

Details of the Arrest

Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and WGN employee, was arrested on Friday by federal agents during an ICE action in a North Side Chicago area. Footage from the scene show the producer being pushed down by two agents before she is restrained and placed in a van.

At the time, a homeland security official stated that Brockman "threw objects at border patrol's car" and was "placed under arrest for attacking an officer".

Subsequently that day, the television station confirmed that Brockman had been freed from detention and that no charges had been filed against her.

Legal Team's Reaction

In a statement released by attorneys acting for Brockman on Tuesday, her legal team challenged the official version. They stated they "adamantly deny any allegation that she attacked anyone" and that "She 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, the journalist was "not performing in any official role as an staff member for WGN" but that she was just "heading to the bus stop as part of her daily travel when she was confronted by federal officers.

"The individual, who is a American citizen born in this country, was violently detained on Foster Avenue," the statement continues. "As this occurred, bystanders on the street began filming the event and inquired Ms Brockman her name."

The release says that she informed the onlookers her name and that she was employed at the station, in the hopes that "someone would notify her employer so coworkers would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her lawyers said.

Consequences and Next Steps

Based on her lawyers, the journalist was kept in government detention for about seven hours before being freed.

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

"One attorney, a legal representative, added in the statement: "If equipped, masked, government officers are taking American nationals off the street as they walk to work and throwing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only imagine what these agents must be prepared to do to our foreign-born residents and people who choose to protest against them."

"Ms Brockman was taken to the ground, struck, restrained, and her pants were lowered exposing her bare buttocks," Thomson said. "Not anyone should be treated like that in this metropolis, in this country or anywhere else in the globe."

ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, and the border agency did not immediately respond to inquiries from news outlets.