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Legal representatives representing a journalist from the city of Chicago's WGN television station who was briefly held by government officers last week describe the incident as "something that should concern and horrify each individual in this country".

Particulars of the Detainment

The journalist, a US citizen and WGN employee, was arrested on Friday by federal agents during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Videos from the location show Brockman being forced to the ground by officers before she is handcuffed and put in a vehicle.

At the moment, a government spokesperson stated that the individual "threw objects at an official vehicle" and was "detained for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".

Subsequently that day, WGN announced that Brockman had been freed from detention and that no accusations had been pressed against her.

Legal Team's Reaction

In a news release issued by attorneys representing Brockman on earlier this week, her representatives disputed the official version. They stated they "strongly refute any allegation that she assaulted anyone" and that "She was the one who was physically attacked by federal agents on her way to work" on the date in question.

Her lawyers explain that at the time 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 bus stop as part of her daily travel when she was confronted by Border Patrol agents.

"The individual, who is a American citizen born in this country, was violently detained on Foster Avenue," the release continues. "As this occurred, bystanders on the street began recording the incident and inquired Ms Brockman her name."

The statement says that she informed the bystanders her name and that she was employed at WGN, in the hopes that "a person would notify 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, the journalist was kept in government detention for about seven hours before being freed.

"She has not been charged with any offenses and she intends to explore all legal avenues open to her to uphold her rights and hold the federal authorities accountable for their actions," the statement notes.

"One attorney, a legal representative, commented in the statement: "When armed, masked, government officers are taking American nationals off the street as they travel to work and placing 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, battered, handcuffed, and her trousers were lowered exposing her bare buttocks," the lawyer stated. "No one should be treated like that in this city, in this nation or anywhere else in the globe."

ICE, the federal agency, and the border agency did not immediately respond to inquiries from the media.