Incident Involving WGN-TV Employee and Border Patrol in Chicago

A WGN-TV employee was taken into custody by two Border Patrol agents on Friday morning as federal agents converged on a busy intersection in Chicago, but she was subsequently released.

The station has decided not to disclose the names of its creative services department employees, adhering to a policy that involves blurring faces and withholding identify of individuals not charged with a crime.

A witness who recorded the incident shared his experience with WGN. He mentioned that moments prior to the arrest, he heard a commotion. “I heard screaming and yelling and honking. I ran downstairs to see what was going on. It looked like a Border Patrol agent in a minivan had tackled a woman to the ground. So I ran up to her and asked her name. She said she was an employee of WGN,” recalled Josh Thomas, who lives nearby.

Arriving around 8:30 a.m., Thomas noticed that another individual was already in the minivan the employee used prior to her arrest. He described the situation as chaotic, noting that an ICE agent was present. “I asked him his name, but I didn’t know his name. He didn’t speak very good English. They claimed that WGN employees were obstructing justice even though they were just standing there and taking video like all of us,” he added.

Another witness, Jordana Mahn, who was in a taxi en route to the airport, also captured video of the unfolding events. “She was walking east. We were driving west. That’s when I took out my cell phone. They had just tackled her and took her out into the street. That’s when I asked her, ‘What’s your name?'” Maan recounted.

According to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the WGN employee, who is a U.S. citizen, was suspected of throwing an object at a Border Patrol vehicle. She was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a federal law enforcement officer but was later released without charges.

Residents in the area expressed concern over the incident. Thomas described the scene as heartbreaking. “It’s scary for the community. When I went back upstairs to the condo, my son was crying and asking me what was going on and if people were going to bring him,” he said.

Maan echoed similar sentiments, expressing fear for the community. “I’m scared for my community. I’m scared for anyone who is black or brown. As you can see in the video, the WGN employee wasn’t black or brown… they terrorize everyone. Dear Chicagoans,” he said.

WGN is currently in the process of gathering video footage from the moments leading up to the employee’s arrest. It was also reported that the Border Patrol released the detained officer from federal custody later that day.