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Legal representatives acting for a producer from Chicago's WGN television station who was briefly held by federal agents last week characterize the event as "something that should concern and frighten each individual in this country".

Details of the Arrest

The journalist, a US citizen and WGN employee, was arrested on the weekend by government officers during an ICE action in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Footage from the scene show Brockman 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 "detained for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".

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

Legal Team's Reaction

In a news release released by lawyers acting for the journalist on Tuesday, her legal team challenged the official version. They declared they "strongly refute any claim that she attacked anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was violently assaulted by officers on her way to work" on the date in question.

Her lawyers explain that at the time of the detainment, Brockman was "not acting in any professional capacity as an employee for WGN" 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 happened, bystanders on the street began recording the incident and asked her her name."

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

Aftermath and Legal Action

According to her legal team, the journalist was held in government detention for about seven hours before being freed.

"She has not been charged with any crimes and she intends to explore all legal avenues available to her to uphold her entitlements and ensure government accountability for their conduct," the release notes.

"Brad Thomson, a legal representative, added in the release: "When equipped, masked, 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 agents must be prepared to do to our foreign-born residents and people who dare to protest against them."

"The journalist was forced down, battered, handcuffed, and her pants were pulled down revealing her uncovered skin," the lawyer stated. "Not anyone should be treated like that in this city, in this nation or any other place in the globe."

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