🔗 Share this article

Legal representatives representing a journalist from Chicago's WGN television station who was briefly held by government officers last week characterize the incident as "something that should concern and frighten every person in this country".

Details of the Arrest

Debbie Brockman, a American national and WGN employee, was arrested on the weekend by government officers during an ICE action in a North Side Chicago area. Videos from the scene show Brockman being forced to the ground by two agents before she is restrained and placed in a van.

At the moment, a government spokesperson stated that Brockman "hurled items at border patrol's car" and was "detained for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".

Subsequently that day, WGN announced that their employee had been freed from detention and that no accusations had been filed against her.

Legal Team's Response

In a news release released by attorneys acting for Brockman on earlier this week, 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 violently assaulted 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 acting in any professional capacity as an staff member for WGN" but that she was just "heading to the bus stop as part of her morning commute when she was confronted by Border Patrol agents.

"Brockman, who is a US Citizen native to the US, was forcibly held on Foster Avenue," the statement continues. "As this occurred, individuals on the street began filming 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 employer so colleagues would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her attorneys said.

Consequences and Legal Action

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

"The individual has not been charged with any offenses and she plans to explore all legal options open to her to uphold her entitlements and hold the federal authorities accountable for their conduct," the statement adds.

"Brad Thomson, a legal representative, commented in the release: "When equipped, covered, government officers are taking US citizens off the street as they travel to work and placing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only conceive what these officers must be prepared to do to our immigrant neighbors and individuals who choose to speak out against them."

"Ms Brockman was forced down, battered, handcuffed, and her trousers were pulled down exposing her uncovered skin," the lawyer said. "Not anyone should be handled like that in this metropolis, in this country or anywhere else in the world."

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