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Legal representatives acting for a producer from Chicago's WGN television station who was temporarily detained by federal agents last week characterize the event as "something that should concern and horrify each individual in this nation".

Details of the Detainment

The journalist, a US citizen and WGN employee, was arrested on the weekend by federal agents during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement action in a North Side Chicago area. Videos from the scene show the producer being forced to the ground by two agents before she is handcuffed and put in a vehicle.

At the time, a homeland security official claimed that Brockman "hurled items at an official vehicle" and was "placed under arrest for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".

Later on Friday, WGN announced that Brockman had been freed from detention and that no accusations had been filed against her.

Legal Team's Response

In a statement released by lawyers representing the journalist on earlier this week, her legal team challenged the official version. They stated they "adamantly deny any allegation that she assaulted anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was violently assaulted by federal agents on her way to work" on 10 October.

Her attorneys explain that at the moment of the detainment, the journalist was "not performing in any professional capacity as an staff member for WGN" but that she was just "walking to the bus stop as part of her daily travel when she was attacked by Border Patrol agents.

"The individual, who is a US Citizen born in this country, was violently detained on Foster Avenue," the release continues. "As this occurred, individuals on the street began recording the event and asked her her name."

The release indicates that she informed the bystanders her name and that she worked at the station, in the hopes that "someone would notify her workplace so colleagues would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her lawyers said.

Consequences and Legal Action

Based on her legal team, Brockman was kept in government detention for about seven hours before being released.

"She has not been accused with any offenses and she plans to pursue all legal avenues available to her to vindicate her rights and hold the federal authorities accountable for their conduct," the statement notes.

"One attorney, a legal representative, commented in the statement: "If armed, covered, government officers are snatching US citizens off the street as they travel to work and placing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only imagine what these officers must be willing to do to our immigrant neighbors and individuals who choose to speak out against them."

"Ms Brockman was taken to the ground, battered, handcuffed, and her trousers were pulled down exposing her bare buttocks," Thomson said. "No one should be treated like that in this city, in this nation or anywhere else in the world."

ICE, the federal agency, and the US Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to requests for comment from news outlets.