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Legal representatives representing 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 alarm and horrify every person in this country".

Particulars of the Detainment

The journalist, a US citizen and WGN employee, was arrested on Friday by government officers during an ICE operation in a North Side Chicago area. Videos from the scene show Brockman being forced to the ground by two agents before she is handcuffed and placed in a vehicle.

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

Subsequently that day, WGN announced that their employee had been released from federal custody and that no accusations had been pressed against her.

Legal Team's Response

In a statement released by attorneys acting for Brockman on Tuesday, her representatives disputed the government's account. They declared they "strongly refute any allegation that she attacked anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was physically attacked by officers on her way to work" on 10 October.

Her lawyers say that at the moment of the arrest, the journalist was "not acting in any professional capacity as an staff member for WGN" but that she was just "heading to the bus stop as part of her morning commute when she was confronted by federal officers.

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

The statement indicates that she informed the onlookers her name and that she worked at WGN, in the hopes that "someone would inform her employer so coworkers would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her attorneys stated.

Consequences and Legal Action

According to her legal team, Brockman was kept in federal custody 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 uphold her entitlements and ensure government accountability for their conduct," the release notes.

"Brad Thomson, one of her attorneys, commented in the statement: "If equipped, covered, government officers are snatching US citizens off the street as they travel to work and throwing them in non-descript cars, you can only imagine what these agents must be willing to do to our foreign-born residents and individuals who choose to protest against them."

"The journalist was forced down, struck, restrained, and her pants were pulled down exposing her uncovered skin," the lawyer stated. "No one should be handled like that in this city, in this nation or any other place in the globe."

Immigration authorities, the Department of Homeland Security, and the US Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to inquiries from the media.