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Attorneys acting for a producer 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 concern and horrify each individual in this nation".

Details of the Detainment

The journalist, a American national and station staff member, was taken into custody on the weekend by federal agents during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Videos from the scene depict the producer being forced to the ground by officers before she is restrained and placed in a van.

At the time, a homeland security official stated that Brockman "threw objects at border patrol's car" and was "detained for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".

Subsequently that day, WGN announced that their employee had been released from federal custody and that no accusations had been pressed against her.

Attorney's Reaction

In a statement issued by lawyers representing the journalist on earlier this week, her legal team challenged the official version. They stated they "adamantly deny any allegation that she attacked anyone" and that "She was the one who was violently assaulted by federal agents on her way to work" on the date in question.

Her lawyers explain that at the time of the arrest, Brockman was "not acting in any official role 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 Border Patrol agents.

"The individual, who is a US Citizen native to the US, was violently detained on Foster Avenue," the release continues. "As this happened, bystanders on the street began recording the incident and inquired her her name."

The statement indicates that she told the onlookers her name and that she worked at the station, in the hopes that "a person would notify her workplace so colleagues would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her lawyers said.

Aftermath and Legal Action

According to her legal team, the journalist was kept in government detention for about several hours before being released.

"The individual has not been accused with any offenses and she intends to pursue all legal avenues open to her to uphold her entitlements and hold the federal authorities accountable for their actions," the release notes.

"Brad Thomson, a legal representative, added in the release: "If equipped, covered, federal agents are taking 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 willing to do to our foreign-born residents and people who choose to protest against them."

"Ms Brockman was forced down, struck, handcuffed, and her pants were pulled down exposing her uncovered skin," Thomson said. "No one should be handled like that in this metropolis, in this nation or anywhere else in the globe."

ICE, the federal agency, and the US Customs and Border Protection did not provide a prompt reply to requests for comment from the media.