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Attorneys representing a journalist from the city of Chicago's local TV network who was briefly held by government officers last week describe the incident as "something that should alarm and frighten every person in this nation".

Details of the Arrest

Debbie Brockman, a American national and station staff member, was taken into custody on the weekend by government officers during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in a North Side Chicago area. Videos from the scene depict Brockman being pushed down by officers before she is handcuffed and placed in a van.

At the moment, a homeland security official claimed that the individual "hurled items at an official vehicle" and was "placed under arrest for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".

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

Legal Team's Response

In a news release released by lawyers acting for the journalist on Tuesday, her representatives disputed the official version. They stated they "strongly refute any claim that she attacked anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was violently assaulted by federal agents on her way to work" on 10 October.

Her lawyers say that at the time of the arrest, the journalist was "not acting in any professional capacity as an employee for the station" but that she was just "walking to the transit point as part of her morning commute when she was confronted by federal officers.

"Brockman, who is a US Citizen native to the US, was violently detained on Foster Avenue," the release continues. "As this occurred, individuals on the street began filming the incident and asked Ms Brockman her name."

The release indicates that she informed the bystanders her name and that she was employed at the station, in the hopes that "someone would inform her workplace so coworkers would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her attorneys stated.

Consequences and Next Steps

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

"She has not been accused with any crimes and she intends to explore all legal avenues open to her to vindicate her entitlements and hold the federal authorities accountable for their conduct," the statement notes.

"Brad Thomson, a legal representative, added in the release: "When equipped, masked, federal agents are snatching US citizens off the street as they travel to work and throwing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only conceive what these officers must be prepared to do to our immigrant neighbors and people who dare to protest against them."

"The journalist was forced down, struck, handcuffed, and her trousers were pulled down revealing her uncovered skin," the lawyer said. "No one should be handled like that in this city, in this nation or anywhere else in the world."

Immigration authorities, the federal agency, and the US Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to requests for comment from news outlets.