Windy City Television Reporter's Detainment in Immigration Operation Described as 'Alarming and Terrifying', Attorneys State
Attorneys representing a journalist from Chicago's local TV network who was temporarily detained by federal agents last week describe the incident as "an occurrence that ought to concern and frighten every person in this nation".
Particulars of the Arrest
Debbie Brockman, a American national and WGN employee, was arrested on Friday by federal agents during an ICE operation in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Footage from the location depict the producer being pushed down by two agents before she is restrained and placed in a vehicle.
At the moment, a homeland security official claimed that Brockman "threw objects at border patrol's car" and was "placed under arrest for attacking an officer".
Later on Friday, the television station announced that their employee had been released from federal custody and that no accusations had been filed against her.
Attorney's Response
In a news release issued by attorneys representing the journalist on Tuesday, her legal team challenged the government's account. They declared they "adamantly deny any claim that she attacked anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was physically attacked by officers on her way to work" on 10 October.
Her lawyers say that at the moment of the arrest, Brockman was "not performing in any official role as an employee for WGN" but that she was just "walking to the bus stop as part of her daily travel when she was confronted by Border Patrol agents.
"Brockman, who is a US Citizen native to the US, was violently detained on Foster Avenue," the release continues. "As this occurred, bystanders on the street began filming the incident and asked her her name."
The statement indicates that she informed the onlookers her name and that she worked at the station, in the hopes that "someone would inform her employer so colleagues would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her lawyers said.
Aftermath and Legal Action
According to her legal team, the journalist was kept in federal custody for about seven hours before being released.
"She has not been accused with any offenses and she plans to explore all legal options open to her to uphold her rights and hold the federal authorities accountable for their actions," the statement adds.
"One attorney, one of her attorneys, added in the release: "If armed, masked, government officers are snatching US citizens off the street as they walk to work and placing 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 protest against them."
"Ms Brockman was taken to the ground, struck, restrained, and her trousers were pulled down exposing her bare buttocks," Thomson stated. "No one should be treated like that in this city, in this country or anywhere else in the globe."
Immigration authorities, the Department of Homeland Security, and the US Customs and Border Protection did not provide a prompt reply to requests for comment from news outlets.