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Legal representatives representing a journalist from Chicago's local TV network who was briefly held by federal agents last week describe the event as "an occurrence that ought to alarm and frighten each individual in this country".

Details of the Detainment

Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and station staff member, was arrested on Friday by federal agents during an ICE action in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Videos from the scene depict the producer being forced to the ground by officers before she is handcuffed and placed in a van.

At the time, 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, WGN announced that Brockman had been freed from detention and that no charges had been pressed against her.

Legal Team's Response

In a statement issued by attorneys acting for the journalist on Tuesday, her legal team disputed the government's account. They stated they "adamantly deny any allegation that she attacked anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was physically attacked by officers on her way to work" on 10 October.

Her lawyers explain that at the moment of the detainment, Brockman was "not acting in any official role as an staff member for WGN" but that she was just "heading to the bus stop as part of her morning commute when she was attacked by federal officers.

"The individual, who is a American citizen born in this country, was forcibly held on a city street," the statement adds. "As this happened, bystanders on the street began recording the incident and inquired Ms Brockman her name."

The release says that she informed the onlookers her name and that she was employed at WGN, in the hopes that "someone would notify her workplace so colleagues would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her attorneys stated.

Consequences and Next Steps

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

"The individual has not been accused with any offenses and she intends to pursue all legal options open to her to uphold her rights and hold the federal authorities accountable for their conduct," the release notes.

"One attorney, one of her attorneys, commented in the release: "If equipped, masked, federal agents are taking US citizens off the street as they travel to work and throwing them in non-descript cars, you can only conceive what these agents must be prepared to do to our foreign-born residents and individuals who dare to speak out against them."

"The journalist was forced down, struck, restrained, and her pants were lowered revealing her uncovered skin," the lawyer stated. "Not anyone should be treated like that in this metropolis, in this country or any other place in the world."

Immigration authorities, the federal agency, and the US Customs and Border Protection did not provide a prompt reply to requests for comment from news outlets.