Chicago Television Reporter's Detainment in Immigration Operation Called 'Alarming and Terrifying', Attorneys Assert
Attorneys representing a producer from Chicago's local TV network who was temporarily detained by government officers last week characterize the incident as "something that should alarm and frighten every person in this country".
Details of the Arrest
The journalist, a American national and WGN employee, was taken into custody on Friday by government officers during an ICE action in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Footage from the scene depict the producer being forced to the ground by officers before she is restrained and placed in a van.
At the time, a government spokesperson claimed that the individual "hurled items at border patrol's car" and was "detained for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".
Later on Friday, WGN announced that Brockman had been freed from detention and that no accusations had been filed against her.
Attorney's Reaction
In a news release released by lawyers acting for Brockman on earlier this week, her legal team challenged the official version. They declared they "adamantly deny any claim that she assaulted anyone" and that "She 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 arrest, the journalist was "not performing in any official role as an staff member for WGN" but that she was just "walking to the bus stop as part of her morning commute when she was confronted by Border Patrol agents.
"The individual, who is a US Citizen native to the US, was forcibly held on a city street," the statement continues. "As this happened, bystanders on the street began recording the event and inquired her her name."
The release indicates that she informed the bystanders her name and that she was employed at the station, in the hopes that "someone would notify her workplace so coworkers would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her lawyers said.
Aftermath and Next Steps
According to her legal team, Brockman was kept in federal custody for about several hours before being released.
"The individual has not been accused with any crimes and she plans to pursue all legal avenues open to her to uphold her rights and ensure government accountability for their actions," the statement notes.
"One attorney, a legal representative, commented in the statement: "When equipped, masked, federal agents are taking American nationals off the street as they walk to work and throwing them in non-descript cars, you can only imagine what these officers must be willing to do to our immigrant neighbors and people who choose to speak out against them."
"Ms Brockman was forced down, battered, handcuffed, and her pants were pulled down revealing her bare buttocks," Thomson stated. "No one should be handled like that in this metropolis, in this nation or anywhere else in the globe."
Immigration authorities, the federal agency, and the border agency did not immediately respond to inquiries from news outlets.
