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Legal representatives acting for a journalist from Chicago's local TV network who was briefly held by government officers last week describe the event as "something that should concern and horrify each individual in this nation".

Particulars of the Arrest

Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and station staff member, was taken into custody on Friday by federal agents during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Footage from the scene show Brockman being pushed down by officers before she is restrained and put in a vehicle.

At the time, a homeland security official claimed that the individual "hurled items at an official vehicle" and was "placed under arrest for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".

Later on Friday, the television station confirmed that Brockman had been freed from detention and that no charges had been filed against her.

Legal Team's Response

In a news release released by lawyers acting for the journalist on earlier this week, her legal team disputed 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 federal agents on her way to work" on the date in question.

Her lawyers explain that at the time of the arrest, the journalist was "not acting 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 federal officers.

"Brockman, who is a American citizen native to the US, was forcibly held on Foster Avenue," the statement continues. "As this happened, bystanders on the street began recording the event and inquired Ms Brockman her name."

The statement indicates that she informed the onlookers her name and that she worked at the station, in the hopes that "someone would inform her employer so colleagues would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her attorneys said.

Aftermath and Legal Action

According to her lawyers, Brockman was kept in government detention for about seven hours before being freed.

"The individual has not been charged with any offenses and she plans to pursue all legal options available to her to uphold her rights and ensure government accountability for their actions," the statement notes.

"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 conceive what these agents must be willing to do to our foreign-born residents and individuals who dare to speak out against them."

"Ms Brockman was forced down, struck, restrained, and her pants were lowered exposing her bare buttocks," Thomson stated. "Not anyone should be treated like that in this metropolis, in this nation or any other place in the world."

Immigration authorities, the federal agency, and the US Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to inquiries from news outlets.