Chicago Television Reporter's Arrest in ICE Operation Described as 'Alarming and Horrifying', Lawyers State
Legal representatives representing a producer from the city of Chicago's local TV network who was temporarily detained by government officers last week describe the event as "an occurrence that ought to concern and frighten every person in this country".
Details of the Detainment
The journalist, a US citizen and WGN employee, was arrested on the weekend by federal agents during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in a North Side Chicago area. Videos from the location show Brockman being forced to the ground by officers before she is handcuffed and put in a van.
At the time, a government spokesperson claimed that the individual "threw objects at border patrol's car" and was "placed under arrest for attacking an officer".
Subsequently that day, the television station announced that Brockman had been released from federal custody and that no charges had been pressed against her.
Legal Team's Response
In a statement released by attorneys acting for the journalist on Tuesday, her representatives disputed the official version. 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 lawyers explain that at the time of the detainment, the journalist was "not acting in any professional capacity as an employee for the station" but that she was just "heading to the transit point as part of her daily travel when she was attacked by Border Patrol agents.
"The individual, who is a American citizen born in this country, was violently detained on Foster Avenue," the statement adds. "As this occurred, bystanders on the street began filming the incident and asked her her name."
The statement indicates that she told the bystanders her name and that she was employed at the station, in the hopes that "someone would notify her workplace so colleagues would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her attorneys stated.
Consequences and Next Steps
According to her legal team, the journalist was held in government detention for about several hours before being freed.
"The individual has not been accused with any crimes and she intends to explore all legal options available to her to vindicate her rights and hold the federal authorities accountable for their actions," the release adds.
"One attorney, one of her attorneys, commented in the release: "If equipped, covered, government officers are snatching US citizens off the street as they walk to work and placing them in non-descript cars, you can only imagine what these officers must be prepared to do to our immigrant neighbors and individuals who dare to protest against them."
"The journalist was forced down, battered, restrained, and her pants were pulled down revealing her bare buttocks," Thomson said. "No one should be treated like that in this city, in this nation or any other place in the globe."
Immigration authorities, the Department of Homeland Security, and the border agency did not provide a prompt reply to requests for comment from the media.
