The US is charging an American citizen for wiping his phone at the border

The government is charging US citizen Sam Tunick with giving federal officials “force password” that wiped his phone when he tried to confiscate it at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport on January 24, 2025. Federal agents detained Tunick at the airport, allegedly questioning him about child exploitation images. Stop Cop City travel to Atlanta.

The government is turning to a well-known and rarely used law that prohibits vandalism or destruction of property to prevent government officials from confiscating it. They say Tunick used a secret form GrapheneOS to wipe his phone by giving the authorities a secret passcode, instead of a real passcode to unlock the phone. The defense has argued that the detention and seizure were illegal, so all evidence should be thrown out.

According to Tunick’s attorneys, agents refused to allow him to speak to a lawyer, did not give him consent, or inform him of his rights. He also says that people were trying to get his phone by fraud. The government has argued that it was not required to issue a warrant because Tunick had not been granted entry into the US.

Marlon Kautz, member of Atlanta Solidarity Fundtell them Guardian earlier this week that, “we all have the right to protect our private data against unauthorized searches. Under the Trump administration, entering the US has become a more difficult process, even for citizens who may encounter it being locked up for hours and monitoring social media accounts. Many accept the only option protect your data and to remove it.