WGN employee disputes Border Patrol account of detainment: 'Alarming and horrifying'

CHICAGO - A WGN employee who was detained by federal agents last week on Chicago's North Side is pushing back against claims made by U.S. Border Patrol officials.

What we know:

People's Law Office, which is representing Debbie Brockman, released a statement Tuesday saying their client was attacked and falsely accused of assaulting officers on her way to work last Friday.

Brockman, a U.S. citizen, said she was walking to the Foster Avenue bus stop for her morning commute to work when she was attacked by Border Patrol agents.

People began recording the incident and Brockman told them her name and mentioned her employer because she hoped someone witnessing the encounter would notify her workplace that she would not be arriving on time. 

"She was not acting in any professional capacity as an employee of WGN," her attorneys said.

Brockman was held in federal custody for roughly seven hours before being released without any charges, according to her legal team.

Her attorneys denied claims from Border Patrol officials that Brockman threw an object at agents prior to her detainment.

In a post on X last Saturday, Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino said she would be charged with assaulting a federal officer.

What they're saying:

"Ms. Brockman was taken to the ground, battered, handcuffed and her pants were pulled down exposing her bare buttocks," said Brad Thomson, one of her attorneys at the People’s Law Office. "No one should be treated like that in this city, in this country, or anywhere else in the world."

Thomson called the incident "alarming and horrifying," adding that Brockman feared for her life multiple times during the encounter.

Federal officials have not released additional information about the case. Brockman and her attorneys said she intends to pursue legal action to hold federal authorities accountable.