🔗 Share this article

Legal representatives acting for 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 alarm and frighten every person in this country".

Details of the Detainment

Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and WGN employee, was arrested on the weekend by federal agents during an ICE action in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Videos from the scene show Brockman being forced to the ground by two agents before she is restrained and put in a van.

At the time, a government spokesperson claimed that the individual "threw objects at border patrol's car" and was "detained for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".

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

Attorney's Reaction

In a statement issued by attorneys acting for Brockman on earlier this week, her legal team challenged the government's account. They stated they "strongly refute any claim that she assaulted 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 say that at the time of the detainment, the journalist was "not performing 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 daily travel when she was confronted by federal officers.

"Brockman, who is a US Citizen born in this country, was forcibly held on a city street," the statement continues. "As this occurred, bystanders on the street began filming the event and inquired Ms Brockman her name."

The release says that she informed the bystanders her name and that she was employed at WGN, in the hopes that "someone would inform her workplace so coworkers would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her attorneys said.

Aftermath and Next Steps

According to her legal team, Brockman was kept in federal custody for about several hours before being released.

"She has not been accused with any offenses and she plans to pursue all legal options open to her to vindicate her entitlements and ensure government accountability for their actions," the release adds.

"One attorney, one of her attorneys, commented in the statement: "When armed, masked, federal agents are snatching American nationals off the street as they walk to work and throwing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only conceive what these agents must be prepared to do to our immigrant neighbors and individuals who choose to protest against them."

"Ms Brockman was forced down, battered, restrained, and her pants were pulled down exposing her uncovered skin," Thomson said. "Not anyone should be handled like that in this metropolis, in this country or anywhere else in the world."

Immigration authorities, the Department of Homeland Security, and the border agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the media.