The United States accuses an American citizen of wiping his phone at the border

The government is trying American citizen Sam Tunick on charges of providing the authorities with “Password coercionWhich wiped his phone when they tried to seize it at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport on January 24, 2025. Federal agents detained Tunick at the airport, ostensibly for questioning him about child exploitation images. However, the motion filed by Tunick’s lawyers argues that this was merely a “pretext for a fishing trip for Mr. Tunick’s connections” to the network. Stop the city cop Movement in Atlanta.

The government resorts to a little-known and rarely used law that makes it illegal to destroy or damage property to prevent authorities from seizing it. They claim that Tonic used a privacy-focused feature GrapheneOS To wipe his phone by giving the authorities a coerced password, instead of the actual passcode to unlock the phone. The defense argued that the detention and seizure were unlawful and therefore all evidence should be dropped.

According to Tunick’s lawyer, the agents denied him access to a lawyer, did not provide him with a memorandum, and did not inform him of his legal rights. They also claim that access to his phone was sought under false pretenses. The government responded that it was not required to produce a warrant because Tunick had not yet been granted permission to enter the United States.

Marlon Kautz, member of Atlanta Solidarity FundL. said Guardian Earlier this week, “We all have the right to secure our private data against unconstitutional searches. And we should — especially in a time of rising authoritarianism.” Under the Trump administration, entering the United States has become a more difficult process, even for citizens who can handle it Detention for hours And auditing social media accounts. Most agree on the only way to do this Protect your data he Delete it.