U.S. activist facing ‘entirely unprecedented’ charges after phone wiped during airport search
Prosecutors say the rare charge could test border-search powers and privacy tools, as defense lawyers argue the airport detention was unlawful.
- In early 2025, Atlanta activist Samuel Tunick faced federal charges after his Google Pixel phone wiped its data using a 'duress password' during a secondary interrogation by Customs and Border Protection at Hartsfield-Jackson airport.
- Federal authorities had placed Tunick on a terrorism watchlist due to his alleged association with the movement against Cop City, an Atlanta law enforcement training facility, according to legal motions.
- When officers demanded a passcode, Tunick provided a 'duress password' that irreversibly wipes the GrapheneOS-powered device, a feature the GrapheneOS Foundation says is designed to protect user data from extraction.
- Prosecutors charged Tunick under a statute criminalizing the destruction of government-seizable property, while his lawyers argue agents 'never read him his Miranda rights' and ignored repeated requests for legal counsel.
- Cybersecurity experts, including Electronic Frontier Foundation staff, warn the prosecution could set a precedent treating privacy-focused software as evidence of criminal intent, potentially expanding the 'Constitution-free zone' of border searches.
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74 Articles
The case of Samuel Tunick, charged with a federal offense after his cell phone erased his data to CBP at Atlanta airport
Times of Malta
US man accused of destroying evidence by wiping phone at airport
A US citizen is facing charges for allegedly supplying US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents with a passcode that erased the contents of his phone during an airport interrogation.Samuel Tunick, an activist in a campaign to stop construction of a police training centre in Georgia, is accused of destroying evidence during the January 24,...
Feds Charge US Citizen For Erasing His Smartphone
The New York Times reports: Federal prosecutors in Atlanta are bringing an obstruction charge against a U.S. citizen who gave customs officers what is known as a duress passcode, which activated software that erased the contents of his phone. The authorities stopped Samuel Tunick, an Atlanta resident, for interrogation at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as he returned to the United States on Jan. 24 last year, according to a Nov…
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