Windy City Television Reporter's Detainment in ICE Operation Described as 'Alarming and Horrifying', Lawyers Assert
Legal representatives acting for a journalist from the city of Chicago's WGN television station who was temporarily detained by federal agents last week characterize the event as "something that should concern and horrify each individual in this country".
Particulars of the Detainment
The journalist, a American national and WGN employee, was taken into custody on the weekend by government officers during an ICE action in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Footage from the location show the producer being pushed down by two agents before she is handcuffed and put in a van.
At the moment, a homeland security official stated that the individual "threw objects at border patrol's car" and was "placed under arrest for attacking an officer".
Later on Friday, WGN announced that Brockman had been freed from detention and that no charges had been pressed against her.
Attorney's Reaction
In a news release released by lawyers acting for Brockman on Tuesday, her legal team challenged the official version. They declared they "adamantly deny any allegation that she assaulted anyone" and that "She was the one who was physically attacked by federal agents on her way to work" on 10 October.
Her attorneys say that at the time of the detainment, the journalist was "not performing in any official role as an employee for WGN" but that she was just "heading to the transit point as part of her morning commute when she was confronted by Border Patrol agents.
"Brockman, who is a American citizen born in this country, was violently detained on a city street," the statement adds. "As this happened, bystanders on the street began recording the event and inquired Ms Brockman her name."
The statement indicates that she informed the bystanders her name and that she worked at the station, in the hopes that "a person would inform her employer so colleagues would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her attorneys said.
Aftermath and Legal Action
Based on her legal team, the journalist was kept in government detention for about several hours before being released.
"She has not been accused with any crimes and she plans to explore all legal options available to her to vindicate her entitlements and ensure government accountability for their conduct," the release notes.
"Brad Thomson, one of her attorneys, commented in the statement: "When armed, masked, government officers are taking American nationals off the street as they walk to work and placing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only conceive what these agents must be prepared to do to our immigrant neighbors and individuals who dare to protest against them."
"Ms Brockman was forced down, struck, restrained, and her pants were lowered revealing her uncovered skin," the lawyer said. "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 border agency did not provide a prompt reply to requests for comment from news outlets.
