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Attorneys representing a producer from the city of Chicago's WGN television station who was briefly held by government officers last week characterize the incident as "something that should concern 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 federal agents during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement action in a North Side Chicago area. Videos from the location show the producer being pushed down by two agents before she is restrained and placed in a vehicle.

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

Later on Friday, the television station announced that Brockman had been released from federal custody and that no accusations had been pressed against her.

Legal Team's Reaction

In a news release issued by lawyers acting for the journalist on earlier this week, her representatives challenged the government's account. They declared they "strongly refute any claim that she attacked anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was physically attacked by federal agents on her way to work" on the date in question.

Her attorneys explain that at the time of the detainment, Brockman was "not acting in any official role as an employee for WGN" but that she was just "heading to the bus stop as part of her daily travel when she was attacked by federal officers.

"Brockman, who is a American citizen native to the US, was violently detained on a city street," the statement adds. "As this happened, bystanders on the street began recording the incident and inquired her her name."

The release indicates that she told the bystanders her name and that she worked at WGN, in the hopes that "a person would notify her employer so colleagues would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her lawyers said.

Consequences and Next Steps

Based on her legal team, the journalist was held in government detention for about seven hours before being freed.

"The individual has not been charged with any offenses and she plans to pursue all legal avenues open to her to vindicate her entitlements and hold the federal authorities accountable for their conduct," the statement adds.

"Brad Thomson, a legal representative, added in the release: "When armed, covered, government officers are taking US citizens off the street as they travel to work and throwing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only imagine what these agents must be prepared to do to our immigrant neighbors and individuals who dare to speak out against them."

"Ms Brockman was forced down, struck, handcuffed, and her trousers were lowered exposing her uncovered skin," the lawyer said. "No one should be treated like that in this metropolis, in this nation or any other place in the world."

Immigration authorities, the Department of Homeland Security, and the border agency did not provide a prompt reply to requests for comment from the media.