Windy City Television Journalist's Detainment in ICE Operation Called 'Disturbing and Terrifying', Lawyers Assert
Legal representatives acting for a journalist from the city of Chicago's local TV network who was briefly held by federal agents last week characterize the event as "an occurrence that ought to alarm and horrify each individual in this nation".
Particulars of the Detainment
Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and station staff member, was taken into custody on Friday by federal agents during an ICE action in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Videos from the location show the producer being pushed down by two agents before she is handcuffed and placed in a van.
At the time, a homeland security official stated that the individual "hurled items at an official vehicle" and was "placed under arrest for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".
Subsequently that day, the television station confirmed that their employee had been released from federal custody and that no charges had been pressed against her.
Legal Team's Response
In a statement issued by attorneys representing Brockman on earlier this week, her representatives challenged the official version. They stated they "adamantly deny any allegation 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 attorneys say that at the time of the detainment, Brockman was "not acting in any professional capacity as an staff member for the station" but that she was just "walking to the transit point as part of her daily travel when she was attacked by federal officers.
"Brockman, who is a American citizen native to the US, was forcibly held on Foster Avenue," the statement continues. "As this happened, bystanders on the street began recording the event and inquired her her name."
The release indicates that she told the onlookers her name and that she worked at the station, in the hopes that "someone would notify her employer so coworkers would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her lawyers stated.
Aftermath and Legal Action
Based on her legal team, Brockman was held in government detention for about seven hours before being released.
"The individual has not been accused with any offenses and she plans to explore all legal options open to her to vindicate her entitlements and hold the federal authorities accountable for their conduct," the release adds.
"One attorney, a legal representative, commented in the statement: "If equipped, covered, federal agents are snatching American nationals off the street as they travel to work and throwing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only conceive what these officers must be prepared to do to our immigrant neighbors and people who choose to speak out against them."
"Ms Brockman was taken to the ground, struck, restrained, and her pants were pulled down revealing her uncovered skin," the lawyer stated. "No one should be treated like that in this city, in this country or any other place in the globe."
ICE, the federal agency, and the border agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment from news outlets.
