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Attorneys acting for a producer from Chicago's WGN television station who was temporarily detained by government officers last week characterize the incident as "an occurrence that ought to alarm and frighten every person in this nation".

Particulars of the Detainment

The journalist, a American national and station staff member, was arrested on the weekend by federal agents during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement action in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Footage from the location show the producer being pushed down by officers before she is restrained and placed in a van.

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

Later on Friday, WGN confirmed that their employee had been released from federal custody and that no charges had been filed against her.

Legal Team's Response

In a news release released by attorneys representing the journalist on Tuesday, her legal team challenged the government's account. They stated they "strongly refute any claim that she assaulted anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was violently assaulted by federal agents on her way to work" on the date in question.

Her lawyers say that at the time of the detainment, the journalist was "not performing in any official role as an staff member for WGN" but that she was just "heading to the bus stop as part of her morning commute when she was confronted by Border Patrol agents.

"The individual, who is a US Citizen native to the US, was forcibly held on a city street," the statement continues. "As this occurred, bystanders on the street began recording the incident and asked her her name."

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

Consequences and Legal Action

Based on her legal team, the journalist was kept in government detention for about several hours before being freed.

"The individual has not been charged with any offenses and she intends to explore all legal avenues open to her to uphold her entitlements and hold the federal authorities accountable for their conduct," the statement adds.

"One attorney, one of her attorneys, added in the statement: "When armed, covered, federal agents are taking US citizens off the street as they travel to work and throwing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only imagine what these officers must be prepared to do to our foreign-born residents and people who choose to speak out against them."

"The journalist was forced down, battered, restrained, and her trousers were pulled down exposing her uncovered skin," the lawyer said. "No one should be handled like that in this metropolis, in this country or anywhere else in the globe."

Immigration authorities, the Department of Homeland Security, and the border agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment from news outlets.