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Legal representatives representing a journalist from the city of Chicago's local TV network who was temporarily detained by federal agents last week characterize the event as "an occurrence that ought to concern and horrify each individual in this nation".

Details of the Arrest

Debbie Brockman, a American national and station staff member, was arrested on Friday by federal agents during an ICE operation in a North Side Chicago area. Footage from the location depict Brockman being forced to the ground by two agents before she is handcuffed and placed in a van.

At the moment, a homeland security official stated that Brockman "hurled items at an official vehicle" and was "detained for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".

Subsequently that day, WGN confirmed that Brockman had been freed from detention and that no charges had been pressed against her.

Attorney's Response

In a statement issued by attorneys representing the journalist on earlier this week, her legal team disputed the government's account. They stated they "adamantly deny any claim that she assaulted 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 say that at the moment of the arrest, Brockman was "not performing in any professional capacity as an staff member for the station" but that she was just "walking to the transit point as part of her daily travel when she was confronted by federal officers.

"The individual, who is a US Citizen born in this country, was forcibly held on Foster Avenue," the release continues. "As this occurred, bystanders on the street began recording the event and asked her her name."

The release says that she told the bystanders 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 coming at work that day", her lawyers stated.

Consequences and Next Steps

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 plans to explore all legal options open to her to uphold her entitlements and ensure government accountability for their conduct," the statement notes.

"One attorney, one of her attorneys, added in the release: "If armed, covered, government officers are snatching American nationals off the street as they travel to work and placing them in non-descript cars, you can only conceive what these officers must be willing to do to our foreign-born residents and people who choose to speak out against them."

"Ms Brockman was forced down, battered, handcuffed, and her trousers were pulled down exposing her uncovered skin," Thomson stated. "No one should be treated like that in this metropolis, in this country or anywhere else 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.