Chicago Television Reporter's Detainment in Immigration Raid Called 'Alarming and Terrifying', Lawyers Assert
Attorneys acting for a producer from Chicago's WGN television station who was briefly held by government officers last week characterize the incident as "something that should alarm and horrify every person in this country".
Details of the Arrest
The journalist, a American national and station staff member, was arrested on the weekend by government officers during an ICE operation in a North Side Chicago area. Videos from the scene show the producer being pushed down by two agents before she is handcuffed and placed in a vehicle.
At the time, a homeland security official stated that the individual "hurled items at border patrol's car" and was "placed under arrest for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".
Later on Friday, WGN announced that their employee had been freed from detention and that no charges had been filed against her.
Attorney's Response
In a news release released by attorneys representing the journalist on Tuesday, her representatives disputed the official version. They declared they "strongly refute any allegation that she attacked anyone" and that "She was the one who was physically attacked by officers on her way to work" on the date in question.
Her attorneys say that at the moment of the detainment, Brockman was "not performing in any professional capacity as an employee for WGN" but that she was just "heading to the transit point as part of her morning commute when she was attacked by federal officers.
"Brockman, who is a American citizen native to the US, was forcibly held on a city street," the statement continues. "As this occurred, individuals on the street began filming the incident and asked her her name."
The statement indicates that she informed the bystanders her name and that she was employed at WGN, in the hopes that "someone would notify her employer so coworkers would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her attorneys said.
Aftermath and Legal Action
Based on her lawyers, Brockman was kept in government detention for about seven hours before being released.
"The individual has not been charged with any offenses and she plans to explore all legal options available to her to uphold her entitlements and ensure government accountability for their actions," the release adds.
"Brad Thomson, a legal representative, added in the release: "When armed, masked, government officers are snatching US citizens off the street as they travel to work and throwing them in non-descript cars, you can only conceive what these officers must be willing to do to our immigrant neighbors and individuals who dare to protest against them."
"Ms Brockman was forced down, struck, restrained, and her trousers were lowered revealing her bare buttocks," Thomson said. "No one should be handled like that in this metropolis, in this country or anywhere else in the globe."
Immigration authorities, the federal agency, and the border agency did not provide a prompt reply to inquiries from the media.