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Attorneys acting for a producer from the city of Chicago's WGN television station who was temporarily detained by government officers last week characterize the incident as "something that should alarm and frighten every person in this nation".

Particulars of the Arrest

The journalist, a US citizen and WGN employee, was arrested on Friday by federal agents during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in a North Side Chicago area. Videos from the scene depict the producer being pushed down by officers before she is restrained and placed in a vehicle.

At the time, a government spokesperson stated that Brockman "threw objects at border patrol's car" and was "placed under arrest for attacking an officer".

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

Legal Team's Reaction

In a news release released by attorneys acting for the journalist on Tuesday, 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 violently assaulted by federal agents on her way to work" on the date in question.

Her attorneys explain that at the moment of the detainment, Brockman was "not acting in any professional capacity as an employee for WGN" but that she was just "walking to the transit point as part of her daily travel when she was confronted by federal officers.

"The individual, who is a US Citizen native to the US, was violently detained on Foster Avenue," the statement continues. "As this happened, bystanders on the street began recording the event and asked her her name."

The statement says that she informed the bystanders 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 said.

Consequences and Next Steps

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

"The individual has not been accused with any crimes and she plans to explore all legal options available to her to uphold her rights and hold the federal authorities accountable for their actions," the release adds.

"Brad Thomson, a legal representative, commented in the release: "When equipped, covered, government officers are taking US citizens off the street as they walk to work and throwing them in non-descript cars, you can only conceive what these officers must be prepared to do to our foreign-born residents and individuals who choose to protest against them."

"Ms Brockman was forced down, struck, restrained, and her pants were lowered revealing her bare buttocks," the lawyer said. "Not anyone should be treated like that in this metropolis, in this nation or anywhere else in the globe."

Immigration authorities, the federal agency, and the US Customs and Border Protection did not provide a prompt reply to requests for comment from the media.