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Legal representatives representing a journalist from the city of Chicago's local TV network who was temporarily detained by federal agents last week characterize the incident as "something that should alarm and frighten every person in this nation".

Particulars 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 a North Side Chicago area. Footage from the scene show Brockman being pushed down by two agents before she is handcuffed and placed in a van.

At the time, a government spokesperson claimed that Brockman "threw objects at an official vehicle" and was "detained for attacking an officer".

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

Legal Team's Response

In a statement released by lawyers representing the journalist on earlier this week, her representatives challenged the government's account. They stated they "strongly refute 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 lawyers say that at the moment of the arrest, Brockman was "not performing in any professional capacity as an staff member for the station" but that she was just "heading to the transit point as part of her morning commute when she was confronted by Border Patrol agents.

"Brockman, who is a US Citizen born in this country, was forcibly held on Foster Avenue," the statement continues. "As this occurred, individuals on the street began filming the event and asked her her name."

The statement says that she told the bystanders her name and that she worked at the station, in the hopes that "someone would notify her employer so colleagues would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her lawyers said.

Aftermath and Legal Action

Based on her legal team, the journalist was held in federal custody for about seven hours before being released.

"She has not been accused with any crimes and she plans to explore all legal avenues available to her to uphold her entitlements and ensure government accountability for their conduct," the statement adds.

"Brad Thomson, one of her attorneys, commented in the statement: "When armed, masked, government officers are snatching US citizens off the street as they travel to work and throwing them in non-descript cars, you can only conceive what these officers must be prepared to do to our immigrant neighbors and individuals who dare to speak out against them."

"The journalist was forced down, struck, handcuffed, and her pants were pulled down exposing her bare buttocks," Thomson stated. "No one should be handled like that in this city, in this country or any other place in the globe."

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