🔗 Share this article

Attorneys acting for a journalist from the city of Chicago's WGN television station who was temporarily detained by government officers last week characterize the event as "an occurrence that ought to alarm and frighten each individual in this country".

Details 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 action in a North Side Chicago area. Videos from the scene show the producer being pushed down by officers before she is restrained and put in a vehicle.

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".

Subsequently that day, the television station confirmed that their employee 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 acting for the journalist on earlier this week, her representatives challenged the government's account. They declared they "strongly refute any allegation that she assaulted 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 lawyers explain that at the time of the detainment, the journalist was "not performing in any professional capacity as an staff member for WGN" but that she was just "walking to the bus stop as part of her daily travel when she was confronted by federal officers.

"The individual, who is a US Citizen native to the US, was violently detained on Foster Avenue," the statement adds. "As this occurred, bystanders on the street began recording the incident and asked Ms Brockman her name."

The release indicates that she told the onlookers her name and that she worked at the station, in the hopes that "someone would notify her employer so coworkers would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her attorneys said.

Aftermath and Legal Action

According to her lawyers, Brockman was held in federal custody for about seven hours before being freed.

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

"Brad Thomson, a legal representative, added in the statement: "If equipped, masked, government officers are taking US citizens off the street as they walk to work and throwing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only imagine what these officers must be willing to do to our foreign-born residents and individuals who dare to speak out against them."

"The journalist was forced down, battered, handcuffed, and her pants were lowered exposing her bare buttocks," Thomson stated. "Not anyone should be handled like that in this metropolis, in this country or anywhere else in the world."

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