A US citizen and Chicago TV producer, Debbie Brockman, was violently arrested by federal agents last week during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in the city’s Lincoln Square neighborhood. Her lawyer revealed that “her pants were pulled down exposing her bare buttocks” during the terrifying incident, yet the US citizen was released after seven hours and no charges were ever filed against her, according to The Guardian.
This whole situation is alarming and horrifying for every single person in this country, regardless of who you are or where you stand politically. Brockman, a producer for Chicago’s WGN television station, was simply “walking to the bus stop as part of her morning commute” on Friday, October 10, when the violent incident occurred. More constitutional violations from ICE if she can prove that she did nothing wrong, which can be hard to do.
Videos from the scene show her being brutally forced to the ground by two masked federal agents, handcuffed, and then put into a van. To be fair, the agents were carrying out a standard ICE operation, but the detention of a US citizen walking to work and the level of force used are seriously disturbing and should have everyone asking questions.
The government’s seems far from the truth
Right after the arrest, a homeland security official tried to justify the agents’ actions, claiming Brockman “threw objects at border patrol’s car” and was arrested for “assault on a federal law enforcement officer”. But then, something crazy happened: on Tuesday, October 14, her attorneys came out with a news release that adamantly denied the government’s entire story. This wouldn’t be the first time ICE agents lied.
They flat-out stated that Brockman was the one who was “violently assaulted by federal agents on her way to work”. The discrepancy between the government claiming a serious felony like assault on a federal officer and the ultimate decision to file no charges is a difference that feels like night and day. You’d think if someone assaulted a federal officer, they’d be cracked down hard on them, but that clearly didn’t happen here.
The attorneys emphasized that Brockman wasn’t acting in any professional capacity as an employee for WGN—she was just an average person trying to get to work. While she was on the ground being detained, bystanders started recording, and she told them her name and where she worked: “Debbie Brockman. I work for WGN. Please let them know”.
According to her lawyers, she did this hoping someone would notify her employer so her coworkers would know she wouldn’t be showing up for the day. It’s pretty unnverving to imagine the position she was put in.
Brad Thomson, one of Brockman’s attorneys, provided a shocking quote that really brings the violence into focus. He stated that during the arrest, “Ms Brockman was taken to the ground, battered, handcuffed, and her pants were pulled down exposing her bare buttocks”.
