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Attorneys representing a producer from the city of Chicago's WGN television station who was briefly held by federal agents last week describe the event as "an occurrence that ought to concern and frighten every person in this country".

Details of the Detainment

Debbie Brockman, a American national and WGN employee, was taken into custody on the weekend by government officers during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in a North Side Chicago area. Footage from the scene show Brockman being forced to the ground by two agents before she is restrained and placed in a vehicle.

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

Later on Friday, WGN confirmed that their employee had been freed from detention and that no charges had been pressed against her.

Legal Team's Reaction

In a statement released by attorneys acting for Brockman on earlier this week, her legal team disputed the government's account. They declared they "strongly refute any claim that she attacked anyone" and that "She was the one who was physically attacked by officers on her way to work" on 10 October.

Her attorneys explain that at the moment of the detainment, Brockman was "not performing in any official role as an employee for the station" but that she was just "walking to the bus stop 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 a city street," the statement adds. "As this occurred, individuals on the street began filming the event and asked her her name."

The statement says that she informed the onlookers her name and that she worked at the station, in the hopes that "someone would inform her employer so colleagues would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her attorneys stated.

Consequences and Next Steps

According to her lawyers, Brockman was held in federal custody for about several hours before being released.

"She has not been charged with any offenses and she plans to pursue all legal avenues available to her to vindicate her entitlements and hold the federal authorities accountable for their actions," the release notes.

"One attorney, a legal representative, added in the release: "When equipped, covered, federal agents are taking 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 prepared to do to our immigrant neighbors and people who dare to speak out against them."

"Ms Brockman was taken to the ground, struck, handcuffed, and her trousers were pulled down revealing her uncovered skin," the lawyer said. "No one should be handled like that in this metropolis, in this country or any other place in the world."

Immigration authorities, the Department of Homeland Security, and the US Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the media.