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Attorneys acting for a journalist from the city of Chicago's WGN television station 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 Arrest

The journalist, a American national and WGN employee, was arrested on Friday by federal agents during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in a North Side Chicago area. Footage from the scene depict Brockman being pushed down by officers before she is restrained and put in a van.

At the moment, a homeland security official claimed that the individual "hurled items at border patrol's car" and was "detained for attacking an officer".

Subsequently that day, WGN announced that Brockman had been freed from detention and that no charges had been filed against her.

Attorney's Response

In a statement released by attorneys acting for Brockman on Tuesday, her representatives disputed the official version. They stated they "strongly refute any allegation that she attacked anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was physically attacked by federal agents on her way to work" on the date in question.

Her attorneys say that at the moment of the detainment, Brockman was "not acting in any official role as an staff member for the station" but that she was just "heading to the transit point as part of her daily travel when she was attacked by Border Patrol agents.

"Brockman, who is a US Citizen born in this country, was violently detained on Foster Avenue," the statement adds. "As this occurred, individuals on the street began recording the incident and asked Ms Brockman her name."

The release indicates that she informed the bystanders her name and that she worked at the station, in the hopes that "a person would notify her workplace so coworkers would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her lawyers said.

Aftermath and Legal Action

According to her lawyers, Brockman was kept in government detention for about seven hours before being released.

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

"One attorney, a legal representative, commented in the release: "When equipped, masked, federal agents are taking American nationals off the street as they walk to work and throwing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only conceive what these agents must be prepared to do to our foreign-born residents and people who choose to speak out against them."

"Ms Brockman was taken to the ground, struck, restrained, and her pants were lowered exposing her uncovered skin," the lawyer stated. "No one should be handled like that in this metropolis, in this country or any other place in the globe."

ICE, the federal agency, and the border agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the media.