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Legal representatives acting for a journalist from Chicago's local TV network who was temporarily detained by federal agents last week characterize the event as "an occurrence that ought to concern and horrify each individual in this country".

Particulars of the Detainment

The journalist, a American national and WGN employee, was arrested on Friday by government officers during an ICE operation in a North Side Chicago area. Videos from the location depict Brockman being pushed down by officers before she is handcuffed and put in a vehicle.

At the time, a government spokesperson claimed that the individual "hurled items at border patrol's car" and was "placed under arrest for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".

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

Legal Team's Response

In a news release issued by attorneys representing Brockman on earlier this week, her legal team challenged the official version. They declared they "adamantly deny any claim that she attacked anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was physically attacked by federal agents on her way to work" on 10 October.

Her attorneys say that at the moment of the detainment, the journalist was "not performing in any official role as an employee for WGN" but that she was just "walking to the transit point 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 statement adds. "As this happened, individuals on the street began filming the event and inquired 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 "someone would notify her employer so coworkers would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her attorneys said.

Aftermath and Legal Action

According to her legal team, the journalist was held in federal custody for about several hours before being freed.

"The individual has not been charged with any offenses and she intends to explore all legal options available to her to uphold her rights and ensure government accountability for their conduct," the release adds.

"One attorney, a legal representative, added in the release: "If armed, masked, government officers are snatching American nationals 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 immigrant neighbors and people who dare to speak out against them."

"The journalist was forced down, battered, handcuffed, and her trousers were pulled down exposing her bare buttocks," Thomson stated. "No one should be handled like that in this metropolis, in this nation or anywhere else in the globe."

Immigration authorities, the Department of Homeland Security, and the border agency did not provide a prompt reply to requests for comment from the media.