Windy City TV Reporter's Detainment in Immigration Raid Called 'Alarming and Terrifying', Attorneys Assert
Legal representatives acting for a producer from Chicago's local TV network who was briefly held by federal agents last week characterize the incident as "an occurrence that ought to alarm and horrify every person in this nation".
Details of the Detainment
The journalist, a American national and WGN employee, was arrested on Friday by federal agents during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement action in a North Side Chicago area. Footage from the location depict the producer being pushed down by two agents before she is handcuffed and put in a van.
At the time, a government spokesperson stated that Brockman "threw objects at an official vehicle" and was "placed under arrest for attacking an officer".
Subsequently that day, WGN confirmed that Brockman had been freed from detention and that no charges had been pressed against her.
Legal Team's Response
In a statement released by lawyers acting for Brockman on earlier this week, her legal team disputed the government's account. They declared they "adamantly deny any claim that she assaulted anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was physically attacked by federal agents on her way to work" on 10 October.
Her lawyers say that at the moment of the arrest, Brockman was "not performing in any professional capacity as an employee for the station" but that she was just "heading 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 violently detained on Foster Avenue," the release continues. "As this happened, bystanders on the street began filming the incident and asked Ms Brockman her name."
The release indicates that she informed the onlookers her name and that she worked at the station, in the hopes that "someone would notify her workplace so coworkers would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her attorneys stated.
Aftermath and Next Steps
According to her legal team, Brockman was held in federal custody for about seven hours before being released.
"The individual has not been charged with any offenses and she intends to explore all legal avenues available to her to uphold her rights and ensure government accountability for their conduct," the statement adds.
"One attorney, one of her attorneys, added in the statement: "If armed, covered, government officers are taking American nationals off the street as they walk to work and throwing them in non-descript cars, you can only conceive what these agents must be prepared to do to our foreign-born residents and individuals who dare to protest against them."
"The journalist was taken to the ground, battered, restrained, and her pants were pulled down exposing her bare buttocks," the lawyer said. "Not anyone should be treated like that in this metropolis, in this nation or any other place in the world."
ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, and the border agency did not immediately respond to inquiries from the media.