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Legal representatives acting for a producer from Chicago's WGN television station who was briefly held by federal agents last week characterize the event as "an occurrence that ought to concern and horrify every person in this nation".

Details of the Arrest

The journalist, a US citizen and WGN employee, was arrested on Friday by government officers during an ICE action in a North Side Chicago area. Footage from the location depict the producer being forced to the ground by officers before she is handcuffed and put in a vehicle.

At the time, a homeland security official claimed that the individual "threw objects at border patrol's car" and was "detained for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".

Later on Friday, WGN confirmed that Brockman had been freed from detention and that no charges had been pressed against her.

Attorney's Reaction

In a news release issued by lawyers acting for the journalist on earlier this week, her legal team challenged 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 moment of the arrest, Brockman was "not performing in any official role as an staff member for WGN" but that she was just "walking to the transit point as part of her daily travel when she was attacked by federal officers.

"The individual, who is a US Citizen native to the US, was forcibly held on Foster Avenue," the statement continues. "As this occurred, individuals on the street began recording the incident and asked her her name."

The statement says that she told the bystanders her name and that she was employed at the station, in the hopes that "a person would inform her employer so coworkers would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her lawyers stated.

Aftermath and Legal Action

Based on her legal team, the journalist was held in federal custody for about several hours before being freed.

"She has not been accused with any offenses and she intends to pursue all legal options available to her to uphold her entitlements and hold the federal authorities accountable for their actions," the release notes.

"Brad Thomson, a legal representative, added in the release: "If equipped, masked, federal agents are taking US citizens off the street as they walk to work and throwing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only imagine what these agents must be willing to do to our immigrant neighbors and individuals who choose to protest against them."

"The journalist was taken to the ground, battered, handcuffed, and her trousers were lowered 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."

ICE, the federal agency, and the border agency did not provide a prompt reply to inquiries from the media.