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Attorneys representing a producer from the city of Chicago's local TV network who was briefly held by government officers last week describe the event as "something that should alarm and frighten each individual in this country".

Details of the Detainment

The journalist, a US citizen and station staff member, was arrested on the weekend by government officers during an ICE action in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Footage from the scene show the producer being pushed down by officers before she is handcuffed and put in a van.

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

Legal Team's Reaction

In a statement issued by lawyers representing Brockman on earlier this week, her legal team challenged the official version. They declared they "adamantly deny any allegation that she assaulted anyone" and that "She was the one who was violently assaulted by officers on her way to work" on 10 October.

Her attorneys explain that at the time of the arrest, Brockman was "not performing in any official role as an employee for WGN" but that she was just "walking to the bus stop as part of her morning commute when she was confronted by Border Patrol agents.

"Brockman, who is a US Citizen native to the US, was violently detained on Foster Avenue," the statement continues. "As this happened, bystanders on the street began filming the incident and inquired Ms Brockman her name."

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

Aftermath and Next Steps

Based on her legal team, Brockman was kept in government detention for about seven hours before being freed.

"She has not been charged with any offenses and she plans to explore all legal avenues open to her to vindicate her rights and ensure government accountability for their conduct," the release adds.

"Brad Thomson, one of her attorneys, commented in the statement: "If equipped, covered, government officers are snatching US citizens off the street as they travel to work and placing them in non-descript cars, you can only imagine what these agents must be willing to do to our foreign-born residents and people who dare to speak out against them."

"Ms Brockman was taken to the ground, battered, handcuffed, and her trousers were pulled down exposing her bare buttocks," the lawyer said. "Not anyone should be handled like that in this city, in this nation or anywhere else in the world."

Immigration authorities, the federal agency, and the border agency did not provide a prompt reply to inquiries from the media.