A video editor and producer for a Chicago TV news station was detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents on Friday morning, according to the Chicago Tribune. The incident occurred during rush hour in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Chicago.
A resident who witnessed the incident said he recorded it on video. WGN-TV spoke to witnesses who said they saw the border patrol agents get out of a minivan and “slam” the woman to the ground.
‘Let them know!’
In a video posted to several X accounts, the woman can be seen lying face down on a street getting handcuffed by two officers.
“What’s your name?” a man behind the camera asks her.
“Debbie Brockman,” she replied. “I work for WGN. Let them know!”
In the video, agents can be seen putting the woman into the minivan. A witness told WGN-TV that there was a Latino man in the backseat of the vehicle.
“I didn’t get his name, although I asked for his name,” the witness told WGN. “He didn’t speak very good English. They claimed that the WGN employee was obstructing justice, even though she was, like all of us, just standing there, taking video.”
DHS comments, WGN confirms arrest
Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin said in a post on X that the woman “was arrested for throwing objects at law enforcement.”
“Earlier today, a WGN-TV creative services employee was detained by ICE,” WGN-TV said in a statement to Straight Arrow News. “She has since been released, and no charges were filed against her. Out of respect for her privacy, we will have no further statements about this incident.”
