Chicago Television Reporter's Detainment in ICE Operation Called 'Alarming and Horrifying', Attorneys Assert
Attorneys acting for a producer from Chicago's WGN television station who was temporarily detained by government officers last week describe the incident as "something that should concern and frighten every person in this nation".
Details of the Detainment
The journalist, a US citizen and station staff member, was taken into custody on Friday by government officers during an ICE action in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Footage from the location depict the producer being forced to the ground by two agents before she is handcuffed and placed in a vehicle.
At the time, a government spokesperson stated that Brockman "hurled items at border patrol's car" and was "placed under arrest for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".
Subsequently that day, the television station confirmed that Brockman had been released from federal custody and that no accusations had been pressed against her.
Legal Team's Reaction
In a statement released by attorneys acting for Brockman on Tuesday, her representatives challenged the government's account. They declared they "strongly refute any claim that she assaulted anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was physically attacked by federal agents on her way to work" on 10 October.
Her attorneys say that at the moment of the detainment, Brockman was "not acting in any professional capacity as an employee for WGN" but that she was just "walking to the transit point as part of her daily travel when she was attacked by Border Patrol agents.
"Brockman, who is a US Citizen born in this country, was forcibly held on Foster Avenue," the release adds. "As this occurred, individuals on the street began filming the event and asked her her name."
The statement indicates that she informed the onlookers her name and that she worked 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 legal team, Brockman was kept in government detention for about several hours before being freed.
"She has not been charged with any crimes and she plans to pursue all legal avenues available to her to vindicate her entitlements and hold the federal authorities accountable for their conduct," the statement notes.
"One attorney, a legal representative, added in the statement: "When equipped, masked, federal agents are taking US citizens off the street as they travel to work and placing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only imagine what these agents must be willing to do to our foreign-born residents and individuals who choose to protest against them."
"Ms Brockman was taken to the ground, struck, handcuffed, and her trousers were lowered exposing her bare buttocks," Thomson stated. "No one should be treated like that in this metropolis, in this nation or anywhere else in the world."
Immigration authorities, the federal agency, and the border agency did not provide a prompt reply to inquiries from the media.
