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Legal representatives representing a journalist from Chicago's WGN television station who was briefly held by government officers last week describe the event as "something that should concern and frighten each individual in this nation".

Details of the Arrest

Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and WGN employee, was arrested on Friday by government officers during an ICE operation in a North Side Chicago area. Footage from the scene show Brockman being forced to the ground by officers before she is restrained and put in a van.

At the time, a government spokesperson claimed that the individual "hurled items at an official vehicle" and was "detained for attacking an officer".

Later on Friday, WGN announced that Brockman had been released from federal custody and that no accusations had been filed against her.

Attorney's Response

In a statement issued by attorneys acting for Brockman on earlier this week, her legal team challenged 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 the date in question.

Her attorneys say that at the time of the arrest, the journalist was "not performing in any professional capacity as an employee for WGN" but that she was just "heading to the transit point as part of her morning commute when she was attacked by federal officers.

"The individual, who is a US Citizen born in this country, was forcibly held on a city street," the release continues. "As this happened, individuals on the street began filming the incident and inquired her her name."

The release says that she told the bystanders 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 lawyers stated.

Consequences and Next Steps

Based on her lawyers, the journalist was kept in government detention for about seven hours before being released.

"She has not been charged with any crimes and she plans to pursue all legal avenues available to her to uphold her rights and hold the federal authorities accountable for their actions," the release notes.

"One attorney, a legal representative, added in the statement: "If equipped, covered, federal agents are snatching American nationals off the street as they walk to work and placing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only imagine 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, struck, handcuffed, and her trousers were lowered revealing her uncovered skin," the lawyer stated. "Not anyone should be handled like that in this city, in this country or any other place in the globe."

ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, and the border agency did not provide a prompt reply to requests for comment from the media.