🔗 Share this article

Attorneys acting for a producer from Chicago's WGN television station who was temporarily detained by federal agents last week describe the incident as "an occurrence that ought to concern and horrify each individual in this country".

Details of the Detainment

Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and station staff member, was arrested on the weekend by federal agents during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Footage from the scene show the producer being pushed down by two agents before she is handcuffed and placed in a van.

At the time, a homeland security official claimed that the individual "threw objects at an official vehicle" and was "detained for attacking an officer".

Later on Friday, the television station announced that Brockman had been freed from detention and that no charges had been filed against her.

Attorney's Reaction

In a news release released by attorneys representing the journalist on Tuesday, her representatives challenged the official version. They stated they "strongly refute any claim that she assaulted anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was physically attacked by officers on her way to work" on 10 October.

Her attorneys say that at the moment of the detainment, the journalist was "not acting in any professional capacity as an employee for the station" 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 violently detained on a city street," the release continues. "As this happened, bystanders on the street began recording the event and asked Ms Brockman her name."

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

Consequences and Legal Action

According to 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 pursue all legal options open to her to vindicate her rights and hold the federal authorities accountable for their conduct," the statement notes.

"Brad Thomson, a legal representative, commented in the release: "When equipped, masked, government officers are snatching American nationals 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 people who choose to speak out against them."

"Ms Brockman was forced down, struck, handcuffed, and her trousers were lowered revealing her uncovered skin," Thomson stated. "Not anyone should be treated like that in this city, in this country or any other place in the world."

ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, and the border agency did not provide a prompt reply to requests for comment from news outlets.