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Attorneys representing a journalist from the city of Chicago's local TV network who was temporarily detained 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 WGN employee, was taken into custody on Friday by federal agents during an ICE operation in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Footage from the location depict the producer being pushed down by two agents before she is restrained and placed in a van.

At the time, a homeland security official claimed that Brockman "threw objects 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 charges had been filed against her.

Legal Team's Response

In a news release issued by lawyers acting for the journalist on earlier this week, her legal team challenged the government's account. They stated they "adamantly deny 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 attorneys explain that at the time of the arrest, the journalist was "not performing in any official role as an employee for the station" but that she was just "heading to the bus stop as part of her daily travel when she was confronted by Border Patrol agents.

"The individual, who is a US Citizen native to the US, was forcibly held on Foster Avenue," the release adds. "As this occurred, bystanders on the street began recording the incident and inquired Ms Brockman her name."

The statement says that she told the onlookers her name and that she was employed at the station, in the hopes that "a person would inform her workplace so coworkers would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her lawyers stated.

Aftermath and Legal Action

Based on her lawyers, the journalist was kept in government detention for about seven hours before being released.

"She has not been accused with any offenses and she intends to pursue all legal avenues open to her to vindicate her rights and hold the federal authorities accountable for their actions," the statement notes.

"One attorney, a legal representative, added in the statement: "If armed, covered, government officers are snatching 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 people who choose to speak out against them."

"The journalist was taken to the ground, battered, restrained, and her pants were pulled down exposing her bare buttocks," Thomson stated. "Not anyone should be treated like that in this city, in this country or any other place in the globe."

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