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Legal representatives acting for a journalist from Chicago's local TV network who was briefly held by federal agents last week describe the incident as "an occurrence that ought to concern and frighten each individual in this nation".

Particulars of the Detainment

The journalist, a US citizen and WGN employee, was arrested on the weekend by government officers during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement action in a North Side Chicago area. Footage from the location depict Brockman being pushed down by two agents before she is restrained and put in a vehicle.

At the time, a government spokesperson claimed that the individual "hurled items at an official vehicle" and was "detained for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".

Subsequently that day, WGN announced that their employee had been released from federal custody and that no accusations had been pressed against her.

Legal Team's Response

In a statement released by attorneys representing Brockman on Tuesday, her representatives challenged the government's account. They stated they "adamantly deny any allegation that she attacked anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was physically attacked by federal agents on her way to work" on the date in question.

Her lawyers explain that at the moment of the arrest, Brockman was "not acting in any official role as an staff member for the station" but that she was just "walking to the transit point as part of her morning commute when she was attacked by federal officers.

"Brockman, who is a American citizen native to the US, was violently detained on a city street," the statement adds. "As this occurred, bystanders on the street began filming the incident and inquired Ms Brockman her name."

The release indicates that she told the onlookers her name and that she worked at WGN, in the hopes that "a person would inform her workplace so colleagues would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her attorneys said.

Consequences and Legal Action

Based on her lawyers, the journalist was kept in federal custody for about several hours before being released.

"The individual has not been accused with any crimes and she plans to pursue all legal avenues open to her to uphold her rights and ensure government accountability for their actions," the release notes.

"One attorney, one of her attorneys, added in the statement: "When equipped, masked, federal agents are taking US citizens off the street as they travel to work and placing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only imagine what these agents must be prepared to do to our immigrant neighbors and individuals who choose to protest against them."

"The journalist was taken to the ground, struck, restrained, and her trousers were lowered revealing her bare buttocks," the lawyer stated. "Not anyone should be treated like that in this city, in this nation or any other place in the world."

ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, and the US Customs and Border Protection did not provide a prompt reply to requests for comment from the media.