Windy City Television Journalist's Arrest in ICE Operation Called 'Disturbing and Terrifying', Lawyers State
Attorneys representing a producer from the city of Chicago's local TV network who was briefly held by federal agents last week describe the event as "an occurrence that ought to alarm and horrify each individual in this country".
Particulars of the Detainment
The journalist, a US citizen and station staff member, was arrested on the weekend by federal agents during an ICE action in a North Side Chicago area. Videos from the scene depict the producer being forced to the ground by officers before she is restrained and put in a van.
At the moment, a homeland security official stated that the individual "threw objects at an official vehicle" and was "placed under arrest for attacking an officer".
Subsequently that day, WGN confirmed that Brockman had been released from federal custody and that no accusations had been pressed against her.
Attorney's Response
In a statement released by lawyers representing the journalist on earlier this week, her representatives challenged the official version. They declared they "strongly refute 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 say that at the moment of the arrest, the journalist was "not acting in any official role as an staff member for WGN" but that she was just "walking to the bus stop as part of her daily travel when she was attacked by Border Patrol agents.
"Brockman, who is a US Citizen native to the US, was violently detained on a city street," the release continues. "As this happened, bystanders on the street began recording the incident and inquired her her name."
The release indicates that she informed the bystanders her name and that she worked at the station, in the hopes that "a person would notify her workplace so colleagues would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her lawyers stated.
Consequences and Legal Action
According to her legal team, the journalist was kept in federal custody for about seven hours before being freed.
"She has not been accused with any offenses and she plans to explore all legal options open to her to vindicate her entitlements and hold the federal authorities accountable for their actions," the release adds.
"Brad Thomson, one of her attorneys, added in the statement: "When armed, masked, 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 prepared to do to our immigrant neighbors and individuals who choose to speak out against them."
"Ms Brockman was forced down, struck, handcuffed, and her trousers were pulled down revealing her bare buttocks," Thomson stated. "Not anyone should be treated like that in this metropolis, in this nation or any other place in the globe."
Immigration authorities, the federal agency, and the border agency did not provide a prompt reply to requests for comment from the media.
