Chicago TV Journalist's Detainment in Immigration Raid Called 'Disturbing and Horrifying', Lawyers State

Attorneys 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 each individual in this nation".

Details of the Detainment

The journalist, a American national and station staff member, was taken into custody on Friday by government officers during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in a North Side Chicago area. Videos from the location depict Brockman being forced to the ground by two agents before she is restrained and put in a van.

At the time, a government spokesperson stated that the individual "hurled items at border patrol's car" and was "placed under arrest for attacking an officer".

Subsequently that day, the television station confirmed that Brockman had been freed from detention and that no accusations had been filed against her.

Attorney's Response

In a news release released by attorneys representing the journalist on Tuesday, her legal team disputed the government's account. They stated they "strongly refute any claim that she attacked anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was physically attacked by federal agents on her way to work" on the date in question.

Her attorneys say that at the moment of the detainment, Brockman was "not acting in any official role as an employee for the station" but that she was just "walking to the bus stop as part of her morning commute when she was confronted by Border Patrol agents.

"The individual, who is a US Citizen native to the US, was violently detained on a city street," the release continues. "As this happened, bystanders on the street began filming the event and inquired 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 employer so colleagues would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her attorneys said.

Consequences and Legal Action

According to her lawyers, the journalist was held in federal custody for about several hours before being freed.

"She has not been charged with any crimes and she intends to pursue all legal avenues available to her to vindicate her rights and ensure government accountability for their conduct," the release adds.

"Brad Thomson, one of her attorneys, commented in the release: "If armed, masked, government officers are taking US citizens off the street as they walk to work and placing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only conceive what these officers must be willing to do to our foreign-born residents and individuals who dare to speak out against them."

"The journalist was forced down, struck, handcuffed, and her pants were pulled down exposing her uncovered skin," the lawyer said. "No one should be treated like that in this metropolis, in this country or anywhere else in the globe."

Immigration authorities, the Department of Homeland Security, and the US Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to requests for comment from news outlets.