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Legal representatives acting for a journalist from the city of Chicago's WGN television station who was temporarily detained by government officers last week characterize the event as "an occurrence that ought to alarm and horrify every person in this nation".

Details of the Detainment

Debbie Brockman, a American national and station staff member, was arrested on Friday by federal agents during an ICE operation in a North Side Chicago area. Footage from the location depict the producer being forced to the ground by two agents before she is restrained and placed in a van.

At the moment, a homeland security official stated that the individual "threw objects at border patrol's car" and was "placed under arrest for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".

Later on Friday, the television station announced that Brockman had been freed from detention and that no accusations had been filed against her.

Legal Team's Response

In a statement released by attorneys acting for Brockman on earlier this week, her legal team challenged the government's account. They stated 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 the date in question.

Her lawyers explain 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 "heading to the bus stop as part of her daily travel when she was attacked by Border Patrol agents.

"Brockman, who is a American citizen born in this country, was violently detained on a city street," the statement adds. "As this occurred, bystanders 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 was employed at WGN, in the hopes that "a person would notify her workplace so colleagues would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her attorneys stated.

Aftermath and Legal Action

Based on her legal team, 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 avenues available to her to uphold her rights and hold the federal authorities accountable for their conduct," the release notes.

"One attorney, one of her attorneys, added in the release: "When equipped, masked, government officers are taking US citizens off the street as they travel to work and placing them in non-descript cars, you can only imagine what these officers must be prepared to do to our foreign-born residents and individuals who dare to speak out against them."

"Ms Brockman was taken to the ground, struck, restrained, and her trousers were lowered exposing her uncovered skin," the lawyer stated. "No one 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 provide a prompt reply to inquiries from the media.