Windy City Television Reporter's Detainment in Immigration Raid Called 'Disturbing and Terrifying', Lawyers State
Attorneys representing a producer from Chicago's local TV network 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 country".
Particulars of the Detainment
The journalist, a American national and station staff member, was arrested on Friday by government officers during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement action in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Footage from the location show Brockman being forced to the ground by two agents before she is handcuffed and placed in a van.
At the time, a homeland security official stated that the individual "threw objects at border patrol's car" and was "placed under arrest for attacking an officer".
Subsequently that day, WGN announced that Brockman had been freed from detention and that no charges had been filed against her.
Legal Team's Reaction
In a statement issued by attorneys representing the journalist on earlier this week, her representatives disputed the official version. They stated they "strongly refute any allegation that she attacked anyone" and that "She was the one who was violently assaulted by officers on her way to work" on 10 October.
Her attorneys explain that at the moment of the detainment, Brockman was "not acting in any professional capacity as an staff member for the station" but that she was just "heading to the bus stop as part of her morning commute when she was confronted by Border Patrol agents.
"The individual, who is a US Citizen born in this country, was forcibly held on a city street," the statement continues. "As this happened, individuals on the street began filming the incident and inquired her her name."
The statement indicates that she informed the onlookers her name and that she worked at the station, in the hopes that "someone would inform her employer so colleagues would know that she would not be arriving at work that day", her lawyers stated.
Aftermath and Legal Action
Based on her legal team, the journalist was held in federal custody for about seven hours before being freed.
"She has not been charged with any offenses and she intends to explore all legal avenues open to her to vindicate her rights and hold the federal authorities accountable for their actions," the statement notes.
"One attorney, a legal representative, added in the release: "When equipped, covered, government officers are snatching American nationals off the street as they walk to work and throwing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only imagine what these officers must be willing to do to our immigrant neighbors and people who choose to protest against them."
"The journalist was taken to the ground, battered, restrained, and her trousers were pulled down revealing her uncovered skin," Thomson said. "Not anyone should be handled like that in this city, in this nation or any other place in the globe."
ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, and the US Customs and Border Protection did not provide a prompt reply to inquiries from news outlets.
