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Attorneys representing a producer from the city of Chicago's WGN television station who was temporarily detained by federal agents last week characterize the incident as "something that should alarm and frighten each individual in this country".

Details of the Arrest

Debbie Brockman, a American national and WGN employee, was taken into custody on the weekend by federal agents during an ICE action in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Videos from the location depict the producer being pushed down by officers before she is restrained and placed in a vehicle.

At the time, a government spokesperson stated that Brockman "threw objects at border patrol's car" and was "detained for attacking an officer".

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

Attorney's Reaction

In a statement released by lawyers representing Brockman on Tuesday, 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 officers on her way to work" on the date in question.

Her lawyers say that at the time of the arrest, the journalist was "not performing in any professional capacity as an employee for the station" but that she was just "walking to the transit point 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 forcibly held on Foster Avenue," the release continues. "As this happened, bystanders on the street began filming the event and inquired Ms Brockman her name."

The statement says that she told the onlookers her name and that she was employed at the station, in the hopes that "a person would inform her employer so colleagues would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her lawyers said.

Consequences and Legal Action

Based on her legal team, Brockman was held in federal custody for about several hours before being freed.

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

"Brad Thomson, one of her attorneys, commented in the statement: "When armed, masked, federal agents are snatching US citizens off the street as they travel to work and throwing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only conceive what these officers 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 trousers were pulled down 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 federal agency, and the US Customs and Border Protection did not provide a prompt reply to inquiries from news outlets.