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Legal representatives acting for a journalist from Chicago's WGN television station who was briefly held by federal agents last week describe the incident as "an occurrence that ought to alarm and horrify each individual in this nation".

Details of the Detainment

The journalist, a US citizen and station staff member, was arrested on Friday by federal agents during an ICE operation in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Footage from the scene depict Brockman being forced to the ground by two agents before she is restrained and placed in a vehicle.

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, the television station announced that their employee had been freed from detention and that no accusations had been filed against her.

Attorney's Reaction

In a news release issued by lawyers acting for the journalist on Tuesday, her representatives challenged the official version. They stated they "adamantly deny any allegation that she assaulted anyone" and that "She 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, Brockman was "not acting in any professional capacity 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 born in this country, was violently detained on a city street," the statement adds. "As this occurred, individuals on the street began recording the event and asked Ms Brockman her name."

The statement says that she told the onlookers her name and that she was employed at WGN, in the hopes that "someone would inform her workplace so colleagues would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her attorneys stated.

Aftermath and Next Steps

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

"She has not been charged with any crimes and she plans to pursue all legal avenues open to her to uphold her rights and hold the federal authorities accountable for their actions," the statement adds.

"Brad Thomson, a legal representative, added in the statement: "If armed, covered, government officers are taking US citizens off the street as they walk 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 choose to protest against them."

"The journalist was taken to the ground, struck, handcuffed, and her trousers were lowered revealing her bare buttocks," Thomson said. "No one should be treated like that in this city, in this country or any other place in the globe."

Immigration authorities, the Department of Homeland Security, and the US Customs and Border Protection did not provide a prompt reply to inquiries from news outlets.