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Legal representatives representing a producer from the city of Chicago's local TV network who was briefly held by government officers last week describe the event as "something that should alarm and frighten every person in this country".

Particulars of the Detainment

Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and WGN employee, was arrested on the weekend by government officers during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in a North Side Chicago area. Videos from the location depict the producer being pushed down by officers before she is restrained and put in a van.

At the moment, a homeland security official stated that the individual "threw objects at an official vehicle" and was "detained for attacking an officer".

Subsequently that day, the television station confirmed that Brockman had been freed from detention and that no charges had been filed against her.

Attorney's Response

In a statement issued by lawyers representing Brockman on Tuesday, her representatives disputed the official version. They declared they "adamantly deny any claim that she attacked anyone" and that "She was the one who was violently assaulted by officers on her way to work" on the date in question.

Her lawyers explain that at the time of the arrest, the journalist 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 confronted by federal officers.

"The individual, who is a US Citizen born in this country, was violently detained on Foster Avenue," the statement adds. "As this occurred, individuals on the street began filming the incident and inquired Ms Brockman her name."

The release indicates that she told the onlookers her name and that she was employed at the station, in the hopes that "someone would notify her employer so coworkers would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her attorneys said.

Consequences and Legal Action

Based on her lawyers, Brockman was held in federal custody for about seven hours before being released.

"She has not been charged with any offenses and she intends to explore all legal avenues open to her to vindicate her rights and ensure government accountability for their actions," the statement notes.

"Brad Thomson, a legal representative, added in the release: "When equipped, masked, federal agents are taking American nationals off the street as they travel to work and throwing them in non-descript cars, you can only imagine what these agents must be willing to do to our foreign-born residents and individuals who dare to protest against them."

"Ms Brockman was taken to the ground, struck, handcuffed, and her pants were pulled down revealing her bare buttocks," Thomson stated. "Not anyone should be handled like that in this city, in this country or anywhere else in the globe."

Immigration authorities, the federal agency, and the US Customs and Border Protection did not provide a prompt reply to inquiries from the media.