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Attorneys representing a producer from the city of Chicago's WGN television station who was temporarily detained by government officers last week describe the event as "something that should concern and frighten each individual in this nation".

Details of the Detainment

Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and station staff member, was arrested on Friday by federal agents during an ICE operation in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Footage from the location show the producer being pushed down by officers before she is handcuffed and put in a van.

At the moment, a homeland security official claimed that Brockman "threw objects at border patrol's car" and was "placed under arrest for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".

Later on Friday, the television station announced that their employee had been freed from detention and that no accusations had been pressed against her.

Attorney's Reaction

In a news release released by attorneys representing Brockman on Tuesday, her representatives challenged the official version. They stated they "adamantly deny any allegation that she assaulted anyone" and that "Brockman 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, Brockman was "not acting in any professional capacity as an staff member for WGN" but that she was just "heading to the transit point as part of her daily travel when she was confronted by federal officers.

"The individual, who is a American citizen native to the US, was forcibly held on Foster Avenue," the statement adds. "As this occurred, bystanders on the street began recording the incident and asked her 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 coworkers would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her attorneys said.

Consequences and Legal Action

According to her legal team, the journalist was kept in government detention for about several hours before being released.

"She has not been charged with any crimes and she intends 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, one of her attorneys, commented in the release: "When equipped, covered, government officers are snatching 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 people who choose to protest against them."

"Ms Brockman was taken to the ground, 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 country or any other place in the world."

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