🔗 Share this article

Attorneys representing a producer from Chicago's WGN television station who was temporarily detained by government officers last week describe the event as "an occurrence that ought to alarm and frighten every person in this nation".

Details of the Arrest

Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and station staff member, was arrested on Friday by government officers during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Videos from the scene show the producer being forced to the ground by officers before she is handcuffed and put in a vehicle.

At the moment, a homeland security official claimed that Brockman "threw objects at an official vehicle" and was "placed under arrest for attacking an officer".

Subsequently that day, the television station confirmed that their employee had been released from federal custody and that no accusations had been pressed against her.

Legal Team's Reaction

In a statement released by attorneys acting for the journalist on Tuesday, her legal team disputed the government's account. They declared they "adamantly deny any claim that she attacked 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 attorneys say that at the moment of the detainment, Brockman was "not performing in any professional capacity as an employee for the station" but that she was just "walking to the bus stop as part of her daily travel when she was attacked by federal officers.

"The individual, who is a American citizen native to the US, was violently detained on Foster Avenue," the release continues. "As this occurred, bystanders on the street began filming the event and asked her her name."

The release says that she told the onlookers her name and that she worked at the station, in the hopes that "someone would inform her employer so coworkers would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her lawyers stated.

Aftermath and Legal Action

Based on her lawyers, Brockman was held in federal custody for about seven hours before being freed.

"The individual has not been charged with any offenses and she intends to pursue all legal options open to her to uphold her entitlements and hold the federal authorities accountable for their conduct," the statement adds.

"Brad Thomson, one of her attorneys, added in the statement: "If armed, covered, government officers are snatching US citizens off the street as they walk to work and throwing them in non-descript cars, you can only conceive what these officers must be prepared to do to our foreign-born residents and individuals who dare to speak out against them."

"The journalist was taken to the ground, battered, restrained, and her trousers were lowered revealing her uncovered skin," the lawyer said. "No one should be treated like that in this city, in this nation or any other place in the globe."

ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, and the border agency did not immediately respond to inquiries from news outlets.