Windy City Television Journalist's Detainment in ICE Raid Called 'Disturbing and Horrifying', Attorneys Assert
Attorneys acting for a producer from the city of Chicago's WGN television station who was temporarily detained by federal agents last week describe the incident as "an occurrence that ought to alarm and horrify every person in this country".
Particulars of the Detainment
Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and station staff member, was arrested on Friday by government officers during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement action in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Videos from the scene depict Brockman being pushed down by officers before she is restrained and put in a van.
At the time, a government spokesperson stated that Brockman "hurled items at border patrol's car" and was "detained for attacking an officer".
Later on Friday, the television station confirmed that Brockman had been released from federal custody and that no charges had been pressed against her.
Legal Team's Reaction
In a news release released by attorneys representing Brockman on earlier this week, her representatives disputed 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 federal agents on her way to work" on the date in question.
Her lawyers explain that at the time of the detainment, the journalist was "not performing in any official role as an employee for WGN" but that she was just "walking to the bus stop as part of her morning commute when she was attacked by federal officers.
"Brockman, who is a American citizen born in this country, was forcibly held on a city street," the statement continues. "As this occurred, bystanders on the street began filming the incident and asked her her name."
The release says that she told the onlookers her name and that she worked at the station, in the hopes that "someone would notify her workplace so colleagues would know that she would not be coming at work that day", her lawyers said.
Consequences and Next Steps
According to her legal team, the journalist was kept in federal custody for about several hours before being freed.
"She has not been charged with any offenses and she plans to explore all legal avenues open to her to vindicate her rights and hold the federal authorities accountable for their conduct," the release notes.
"Brad Thomson, one of her attorneys, commented in the statement: "When equipped, masked, government officers are snatching American nationals off the street as they walk to work and throwing them in non-descript cars, you can only imagine what these agents must be prepared to do to our foreign-born residents and individuals who choose to speak out against them."
"The journalist was taken to the ground, struck, restrained, and her trousers were pulled down exposing her bare buttocks," the lawyer stated. "No one should be handled like that in this city, in this nation or anywhere else in the world."
ICE, the federal agency, and the border agency did not provide a prompt reply to requests for comment from news outlets.
