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Legal representatives representing a producer from the city of Chicago's local TV network who was briefly held by federal agents last week characterize the event as "something that should concern and horrify every person in this nation".

Particulars of the Detainment

The journalist, a American national and WGN employee, was taken into custody on Friday by federal agents during an ICE operation in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Footage from the scene depict the producer being forced to the ground by officers before she is restrained and put in a vehicle.

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

Subsequently that day, WGN announced 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 issued by lawyers representing Brockman on Tuesday, her legal team disputed the government's account. They stated they "adamantly deny any claim that she attacked anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was violently assaulted by officers on her way to work" on 10 October.

Her attorneys say that at the moment of the detainment, the journalist was "not performing in any professional capacity as an staff member for the station" but that she was just "heading to the bus stop as part of her morning commute when she was confronted by federal officers.

"Brockman, who is a US Citizen born in this country, was violently detained on Foster Avenue," the release adds. "As this happened, bystanders on the street began filming the event and asked Ms Brockman her name."

The statement says that she told the bystanders her name and that she was employed at the station, in the hopes that "someone would inform her workplace so coworkers would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her attorneys stated.

Aftermath and Legal Action

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

"She has not been accused with any offenses and she plans to pursue all legal options available to her to uphold her entitlements and hold the federal authorities accountable for their actions," the statement adds.

"One attorney, a legal representative, added in the statement: "When armed, covered, federal agents are taking US citizens off the street as they travel to work and placing them in non-descript cars, you can only imagine what these officers must be willing to do to our foreign-born residents and individuals who choose to protest against them."

"Ms Brockman was forced down, battered, handcuffed, and her pants were pulled down exposing her bare buttocks," the lawyer said. "No one should be handled like that in this city, in this nation or anywhere else in the globe."

Immigration authorities, the Department of Homeland Security, and the border agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment from news outlets.