Windy City TV Reporter's Detainment in ICE Operation Called 'Alarming and Terrifying', Attorneys Assert
Legal representatives acting for a journalist from Chicago's local TV network who was temporarily detained by government officers last week characterize the incident as "something that should concern and horrify every person in this country".
Details of the Arrest
The journalist, a American national and station staff member, was taken into custody on the weekend by government officers during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement action in a North Side Chicago area. Videos from the location depict the producer being forced to the ground by officers before she is restrained and put in a van.
At the moment, a homeland security official claimed that the individual "threw objects at border patrol's car" and was "placed under arrest for attacking an officer".
Later on Friday, the television station confirmed that their employee had been released from federal custody and that no accusations had been filed against her.
Legal Team's Reaction
In a statement released by attorneys acting for the journalist on earlier this week, her legal team challenged the official version. They stated they "adamantly deny any claim that she assaulted anyone" and that "She was the one who was violently assaulted by officers on her way to work" on the date in question.
Her attorneys say that at the moment of the arrest, the journalist was "not performing in any official role as an employee for the station" but that she was just "walking to the bus stop as part of her morning commute when she was confronted by Border Patrol agents.
"Brockman, who is a US Citizen born in this country, was violently detained on a city street," the statement adds. "As this happened, bystanders on the street began recording the incident and asked Ms Brockman her name."
The release indicates that she told the onlookers her name and that she was employed 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 lawyers said.
Consequences and Next Steps
Based on her legal team, Brockman was kept in federal custody for about several hours before being released.
"The individual has not been accused with any offenses and she plans to pursue all legal avenues open to her to uphold her entitlements and ensure government accountability for their actions," the release adds.
"One attorney, one of her attorneys, added in the statement: "If armed, covered, government officers are snatching American nationals off the street as they travel to work and throwing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only conceive what these agents must be prepared to do to our immigrant neighbors and individuals who dare to speak out against them."
"Ms Brockman was taken to the ground, battered, handcuffed, and her trousers were pulled down revealing her bare buttocks," the lawyer stated. "No one should be treated like that in this city, in this country or any other place in the globe."
Immigration authorities, the federal agency, and the US Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the media.
