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Attorneys acting for a producer from Chicago's local TV network who was temporarily detained by federal agents last week describe the event as "something that should alarm and frighten each individual in this nation".

Details of the Arrest

The journalist, a US citizen and WGN employee, was taken into custody on the weekend by government officers during an ICE action in a North Side Chicago area. Videos from the location depict the producer being pushed down by officers 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 "detained for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".

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

Legal Team's Response

In a news release issued by lawyers representing the journalist on earlier this week, her legal team challenged the official version. They stated they "strongly refute any claim that she assaulted anyone" and that "She was the one who was violently assaulted by federal agents on her way to work" on 10 October.

Her attorneys say that at the moment of the detainment, the journalist was "not performing in any professional capacity as an staff member for the station" but that she was just "heading to the transit point as part of her morning commute when she was attacked by Border Patrol agents.

"The individual, who is a American citizen born in this country, was forcibly held on Foster Avenue," the statement continues. "As this happened, bystanders on the street began recording the incident and asked Ms Brockman her name."

The release indicates that she informed the bystanders her name and that she worked at WGN, in the hopes that "someone would inform her employer so colleagues would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her lawyers stated.

Consequences and Legal Action

According to her lawyers, Brockman was kept in government detention for about seven hours before being freed.

"She has not been charged with any offenses and she plans to pursue all legal avenues open to her to uphold her entitlements and ensure government accountability for their actions," the statement adds.

"Brad Thomson, a legal representative, added in the release: "When equipped, masked, government officers are taking American nationals off the street as they travel to work and placing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only conceive what these agents must be willing to do to our foreign-born residents and people who dare to speak out against them."

"Ms Brockman was forced down, struck, handcuffed, and her pants were pulled down 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 globe."

ICE, the federal agency, and the US Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to inquiries from news outlets.