Windy City Television Journalist's Arrest in ICE Raid Called 'Disturbing and Horrifying', Attorneys Assert
Attorneys representing a journalist from the city of Chicago's WGN television station who was temporarily detained by government officers last week describe the incident as "an occurrence that ought to concern and horrify every person in this nation".
Details of the Detainment
Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and WGN employee, was arrested on Friday by government officers during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement 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 Brockman "hurled items at border patrol's car" and was "detained for assault on a federal law enforcement officer".
Later on Friday, the television station confirmed that their employee had been freed from detention and that no charges had been filed against her.
Legal Team's Response
In a statement released by lawyers representing Brockman on earlier this week, her legal team disputed the government's account. They declared they "strongly refute any allegation that she assaulted anyone" and that "Brockman was the one who was physically attacked by officers on her way to work" on 10 October.
Her lawyers explain that at the moment of the detainment, Brockman was "not acting in any professional capacity as an employee for the station" but that she was just "walking to the bus stop as part of her daily travel when she was confronted by Border Patrol agents.
"Brockman, who is a American citizen native to the US, was violently detained on Foster Avenue," the release adds. "As this occurred, bystanders on the street began filming the event and inquired Ms Brockman her name."
The statement indicates that she informed the bystanders her name and that she was employed at the station, in the hopes that "a person would inform her employer so coworkers would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her attorneys stated.
Consequences and Legal Action
Based on her lawyers, Brockman was kept in federal custody for about several hours before being freed.
"She has not been accused with any offenses and she intends to explore all legal avenues available to her to uphold her entitlements and hold the federal authorities accountable for their actions," the statement notes.
"One attorney, one of her attorneys, added in the release: "If equipped, masked, federal agents are snatching American nationals off the street as they travel to work and throwing them in non-descript cars, you can only conceive what these officers must be willing to do to our foreign-born residents and individuals who dare to protest against them."
"The journalist was forced down, struck, restrained, and her trousers were pulled down revealing her bare buttocks," the lawyer stated. "Not anyone should be treated like that in this metropolis, in this country or any other place in the globe."
Immigration authorities, the federal agency, and the border agency did not immediately respond to inquiries from news outlets.
