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Attorneys representing a journalist from the city of Chicago's WGN television station who was temporarily detained by government officers last week describe the incident as "something that should alarm and horrify every person in this country".

Particulars of the Arrest

The journalist, a US citizen and WGN employee, was arrested on the weekend by federal agents during an ICE action in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Videos from the scene depict the producer being forced to the ground by officers before she is handcuffed and placed in a van.

At the time, a homeland security official claimed that the individual "threw objects at border patrol's car" and was "detained for attacking an officer".

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

Legal Team's Response

In a statement issued by lawyers acting for the journalist on Tuesday, her legal team challenged the government's account. They declared they "adamantly deny any claim that she assaulted anyone" and that "She was the one who was violently assaulted by officers on her way to work" on 10 October.

Her attorneys say that at the moment of the detainment, Brockman was "not acting in any official role as an employee for WGN" but that she was just "heading to the transit point as part of her morning commute when she was attacked by federal officers.

"The individual, who is a American citizen native to the US, was forcibly held on Foster Avenue," the release continues. "As this occurred, individuals on the street began filming the event and inquired her her name."

The release indicates that she told the onlookers her name and that she worked at WGN, in the hopes that "a person would inform her employer so colleagues would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her lawyers stated.

Aftermath and Legal Action

Based on her lawyers, Brockman was kept in federal custody for about several hours before being released.

"The individual has not been charged with any crimes and she intends to pursue all legal options open to her to uphold her entitlements and hold the federal authorities accountable for their actions," the statement notes.

"One attorney, a legal representative, commented in the statement: "If equipped, covered, federal agents are taking American nationals off the street as they travel to work and placing them in non-descript cars, you can only conceive what these agents must be prepared to do to our foreign-born residents and people who choose to protest against them."

"Ms Brockman was taken to the ground, battered, restrained, and her pants were pulled down revealing her bare buttocks," the lawyer stated. "Not anyone should be treated like that in this city, in this nation or anywhere else in the globe."

Immigration authorities, the federal agency, and the border agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the media.