🔗 Share this article

Attorneys representing a journalist from Chicago's local TV network who was temporarily detained by federal agents last week characterize the event as "something that should concern and horrify each individual in this nation".

Particulars of the Detainment

Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and WGN employee, was taken into custody on Friday by federal agents during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement action in a North Side Chicago area. Videos from the scene depict Brockman being pushed down by two agents before she is restrained and put in a van.

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

Later on Friday, the television station confirmed that Brockman had been released from federal custody and that no accusations had been pressed against her.

Attorney's Reaction

In a news release issued by lawyers representing the journalist on Tuesday, her legal team disputed the official version. They stated they "adamantly deny any allegation that she attacked anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was violently assaulted by federal agents on her way to work" on 10 October.

Her attorneys explain that at the time of the arrest, Brockman was "not acting in any official role as an employee for the station" but that she was just "heading to the transit point as part of her morning commute when she was confronted by Border Patrol agents.

"The individual, who is a American citizen native to the US, was forcibly held 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 indicates that she informed the bystanders her name and that she worked at WGN, in the hopes that "a person would inform her workplace so coworkers would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her lawyers said.

Aftermath and Next Steps

Based on her lawyers, the journalist was kept in government detention for about several hours before being freed.

"She has not been charged with any crimes and she intends to explore all legal options open to her to uphold her entitlements and ensure government accountability for their actions," the release adds.

"One attorney, one of her attorneys, commented in the statement: "If armed, covered, federal agents are taking American nationals off the street as they walk to work and throwing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only conceive what these agents must be prepared to do to our immigrant neighbors and individuals who dare to speak out against them."

"Ms Brockman was taken to the ground, struck, handcuffed, and her pants were lowered exposing her bare buttocks," the lawyer said. "No one should be handled like that in this city, in this country or anywhere else in the world."

ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, and the US Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to inquiries from the media.