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| WGN Producer Being Cuffed Friday |
On Friday morning, Debbie Brockman, a veteran video editor and producer at WGN-TV since 2011, was forcibly detained by two U.S. Border Patrol agents during a high-profile immigration enforcement operation in Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood.
According to The Chicago Tribune, the incident occurred around 8:30 a.m. during rush hour, as part of Operation Midway Blitz, a federal initiative targeting “criminal illegal aliens” in Chicago and Illinois. Brockman was recording the agents’ activities when she was taken to the ground face-down, handcuffed, and placed in an unmarked silver van with New Jersey plates alongside an unidentified Latino man already detained.
Video captured by Josh Thomas, a 36-year-old local lawyer and resident, shows Brockman identifying herself, shouting, “Debbie Brockman. I work for WGN. Please let them know,” as agents restrained her.
Thomas, drawn by screams and honking, described a tense scene with nearly two dozen pedestrians shouting objections, some calling the agents “fascists,” while stopped cars honked in protest.
According to Thomas, agents stated Brockman was detained for “obstruction,” though she denied the accusation. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) later claimed Brockman threw objects at a Border Patrol vehicle, alleging she was arrested for “assault on a federal law enforcement officer” after “violent agitators” used cars to block agents.
By 3 p.m. that day, WGN-TV confirmed Brockman’s release from ICE custody with no charges filed.
The station’s statement read: “Earlier today, a WGN-TV creative services employee was detained by ICE. 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.”
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin defended the agents, stating they were conducting lawful immigration enforcement when met with resistance, necessitating their vehicle to “strike a suspect’s vehicle” for public and officer safety. Operation Midway Blitz, launched September 8, has resulted in over 800 arrests as of October 1, though details on releases remain unclear.
The incident, widely shared on X with thousands of views, sparked polarized reactions. Some posts supported the agents, framing Brockman’s detainment as justified, while others decried it as excessive force against a journalist. Local schools, from Ravenswood Elementary to Amundsen High, issued alerts about ICE activity, emphasizing that Chicago Public Schools would bar federal agents without a criminal judicial warrant.
On October 9, a federal judge temporarily blocked National Guard deployment to support the operation, a decision under appeal by the Trump administration.