🔗 Share this article

Attorneys representing a journalist from Chicago's local TV network who was temporarily detained by government officers last week characterize the event as "an occurrence that ought to concern and horrify every person in this nation".

Particulars of the Arrest

Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and WGN employee, was arrested on Friday by government officers 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 handcuffed and placed in a vehicle.

At the moment, a government spokesperson claimed that the individual "hurled items at border patrol's car" and was "placed under arrest for attacking an officer".

Later on Friday, WGN confirmed that Brockman had been released from federal custody and that no accusations had been filed against her.

Attorney's Reaction

In a statement issued by attorneys representing Brockman on Tuesday, her representatives challenged the government's account. They stated they "adamantly deny any claim that she assaulted anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was violently assaulted by officers on her way to work" on 10 October.

Her attorneys explain that at the moment of the arrest, the journalist was "not acting in any official role as an staff member for the station" but that she was just "heading to the transit point as part of her morning commute when she was confronted by Border Patrol agents.

"Brockman, who is a US Citizen born in this country, was violently detained on a city street," the statement adds. "As this occurred, bystanders on the street began recording the event and asked her her name."

The release says that she informed the onlookers her name and that she worked at WGN, in the hopes that "someone would inform her workplace so coworkers would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her lawyers stated.

Consequences and Next Steps

Based on her lawyers, Brockman was held 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 options available to her to uphold her rights and ensure government accountability for their conduct," the release adds.

"One attorney, a legal representative, commented in the release: "When armed, covered, federal agents are taking US citizens off the street as they walk to work and placing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only imagine what these officers must be prepared to do to our foreign-born residents and people who dare to protest against them."

"Ms Brockman was taken to the ground, battered, handcuffed, and her pants were pulled down revealing her uncovered skin," Thomson stated. "Not anyone should be treated like that in this city, in this country 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.