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Legal representatives representing a journalist from Chicago's WGN television station who was briefly held by federal agents last week describe the event as "something that should alarm and horrify every person in this country".

Details of the Detainment

The journalist, a American national and station staff member, was taken into custody on the weekend by government officers during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in a North Side Chicago area. Videos from the location depict the producer being forced to the ground by two agents 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 Brockman had been released from federal custody and that no charges had been pressed against her.

Legal Team's Reaction

In a news release released by attorneys acting for Brockman on earlier this week, her legal team challenged the government's account. They stated they "strongly refute any allegation that she assaulted anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was violently assaulted by officers on her way to work" on 10 October.

Her attorneys explain that at the moment of the arrest, Brockman was "not acting in any professional capacity as an staff member for the station" but that she was just "walking to the bus stop as part of her daily travel when she was confronted by federal officers.

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

The release indicates that she told the bystanders her name and that she was employed at the station, in the hopes that "someone would inform her employer so colleagues would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her lawyers said.

Aftermath and Next Steps

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

"She has not been charged with any crimes 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 adds.

"Brad Thomson, one of her attorneys, added in the statement: "If equipped, masked, government officers are snatching American nationals off the street as they walk to work and throwing them in non-descript cars, you can only conceive what these agents must be willing to do to our immigrant neighbors and individuals who dare to speak out against them."

"Ms Brockman was forced down, struck, handcuffed, and her pants were pulled down exposing her bare buttocks," Thomson said. "Not anyone should be handled like that in this city, in this country or any other place in the world."

Immigration authorities, the federal agency, and the US Customs and Border Protection did not provide a prompt reply to inquiries from news outlets.