🔗 Share this article

Attorneys representing a journalist from Chicago's local TV network who was temporarily detained by government officers last week describe the incident as "something that should concern and frighten every person in this country".

Details of the Arrest

The journalist, a US citizen and WGN employee, was taken into custody on Friday by federal agents during an ICE action in a North Side Chicago area. Footage from the scene depict the producer being pushed down by officers before she is handcuffed and placed in a van.

At the time, a homeland security official stated that the individual "threw objects at an official vehicle" and was "detained for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".

Later on Friday, the television station confirmed that Brockman had been released from federal custody and that no charges had been filed against her.

Attorney's Reaction

In a news release released by lawyers representing the journalist on Tuesday, her legal team challenged the government's account. They stated they "adamantly deny any allegation that she attacked anyone" and that "She was the one who was violently assaulted by federal agents on her way to work" on 10 October.

Her lawyers say that at the time of the detainment, Brockman was "not performing 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 morning commute when she was attacked by federal officers.

"Brockman, who is a American citizen born in this country, was violently detained on Foster Avenue," the statement adds. "As this occurred, individuals on the street began filming the incident and asked Ms Brockman her name."

The release says that she told the onlookers her name and that she was employed at WGN, in the hopes that "a person would inform her workplace so colleagues would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her attorneys stated.

Consequences and Legal Action

According to her legal team, Brockman was kept in government detention for about seven hours before being freed.

"The individual has not been accused with any crimes and she intends to pursue all legal avenues open to her to vindicate her rights and hold the federal authorities accountable for their conduct," the statement adds.

"Brad Thomson, a legal representative, added in the release: "If equipped, covered, federal agents are taking American nationals off the street as they walk to work and placing them in non-descript cars, you can only imagine what these agents 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, struck, restrained, and her pants were pulled down revealing her bare buttocks," the lawyer said. "No one should be handled like that in this metropolis, in this country or any other place in the world."

Immigration authorities, the Department of Homeland Security, and the border agency did not provide a prompt reply to requests for comment from the media.