🔗 Share this article

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

Particulars of the Arrest

Debbie Brockman, a American national and station staff member, was arrested on Friday by government officers during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in a North Side Chicago area. Footage from the scene show Brockman being pushed down by two agents before she is restrained and put in a vehicle.

At the time, a government spokesperson stated that Brockman "threw objects at an official vehicle" and was "detained for attacking an officer".

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

Legal Team's Reaction

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

Her lawyers explain that at the moment of the detainment, the journalist was "not acting in any official role as an staff member for WGN" but that she was just "walking to the bus stop as part of her daily travel when she was confronted by federal officers.

"The individual, who is a American citizen born in this country, was forcibly held on a city street," the statement adds. "As this happened, individuals on the street began filming the event and asked Ms Brockman her name."

The statement says that she informed the onlookers her name and that she was employed at WGN, in the hopes that "a person would notify her workplace so coworkers would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her attorneys stated.

Consequences and Next Steps

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

"The individual has not been accused with any offenses and she plans to pursue all legal options available to her to uphold her rights and ensure government accountability for their conduct," the release adds.

"Brad Thomson, a legal representative, added in the release: "If armed, covered, government officers are snatching American nationals off the street as they travel to work and placing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only conceive what these officers must be willing to do to our immigrant neighbors and individuals who dare to speak out against them."

"The journalist was forced down, battered, handcuffed, and her pants were lowered revealing her uncovered skin," Thomson stated. "No one should be treated like that in this metropolis, in this nation or any other place in the globe."

ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, and the US Customs and Border Protection did not provide a prompt reply to inquiries from the media.