Windy City Television Reporter's Arrest in Immigration Raid Described as 'Disturbing and Terrifying', Attorneys Assert
Legal representatives acting for a producer from Chicago's local TV network who was briefly held by government officers last week describe the event as "an occurrence that ought to alarm and frighten every person in this country".
Details of the Detainment
Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and station staff member, was taken into custody on Friday by government officers during an ICE operation in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Videos from the scene show the producer being pushed down by officers before she is restrained and put in a van.
At the time, a homeland security official claimed that Brockman "threw objects at an official vehicle" and was "placed under arrest for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".
Subsequently that day, WGN confirmed that Brockman had been freed from detention and that no charges had been filed against her.
Legal Team's Reaction
In a statement released by attorneys representing the journalist on Tuesday, her legal team 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 moment of the detainment, the journalist was "not performing in any official role as an staff member for the station" but that she was just "heading to the transit point as part of her morning commute when she was attacked by federal officers.
"The individual, who is a American citizen native to the US, was violently detained on Foster Avenue," the statement continues. "As this happened, bystanders on the street began filming the event and inquired her her name."
The release indicates that she informed the bystanders her name and that she worked at the station, in the hopes that "someone would inform her workplace so colleagues would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her attorneys said.
Consequences and Next Steps
According to her legal team, the journalist was kept in government detention for about several hours before being freed.
"The individual has not been charged with any crimes and she plans to pursue all legal options open to her to vindicate her entitlements and hold the federal authorities accountable for their conduct," the statement notes.
"One attorney, a legal representative, commented in the statement: "If equipped, covered, federal agents are taking US citizens off the street as they travel to work and throwing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only conceive what these agents must be willing to do to our immigrant neighbors and individuals who dare to speak out against them."
"Ms Brockman was forced down, battered, restrained, and her pants were lowered exposing her bare buttocks," the lawyer said. "Not anyone should be handled like that in this metropolis, in this country or any other place in the world."
ICE, the federal agency, and the US Customs and Border Protection did not provide a prompt reply to requests for comment from the media.
