🔗 Share this article

Attorneys representing a producer from the city of Chicago's WGN television station who was briefly held by government officers last week characterize the event as "an occurrence that ought to alarm and horrify every person in this country".

Details of the Arrest

The journalist, a American national and WGN employee, was arrested on the weekend by federal agents during an ICE operation in a North Side Chicago area. Videos from the scene show the producer being forced to the ground by two agents before she is restrained and put in a van.

At the moment, 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, the television station confirmed that their employee had been freed from detention and that no charges had been pressed against her.

Legal Team's Response

In a news release issued by lawyers acting for Brockman on Tuesday, her legal team challenged the government's account. They stated they "adamantly deny any allegation that she assaulted anyone" and that "She was the one who was physically attacked by officers on her way to work" on the date in question.

Her attorneys explain that at the time of the arrest, Brockman was "not performing in any official role as an employee for the station" but that she was just "walking to the transit point as part of her morning commute when she was confronted by federal officers.

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

The release indicates that she told the bystanders her name and that she was employed at the station, in the hopes that "a person would inform her workplace so colleagues would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her lawyers said.

Aftermath and Legal Action

Based on her lawyers, the journalist was held in government detention for about seven hours before being freed.

"She has not been charged with any offenses and she intends to pursue all legal avenues open to her to uphold her entitlements and hold the federal authorities accountable for their actions," the release adds.

"Brad Thomson, one of her attorneys, commented in the statement: "If equipped, masked, government officers are snatching US citizens off the street as they travel to work and throwing 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 dare to protest against them."

"The journalist was taken to the ground, struck, handcuffed, and her pants were lowered exposing her bare buttocks," the lawyer said. "Not anyone should be handled like that in this city, in this country or anywhere else in the globe."

ICE, the federal agency, and the border agency did not provide a prompt reply to inquiries from news outlets.