Activist charged for wiping phone during CBP search; legal experts warn of gray area
A Georgia man faces felony charges after allegedly wiping his phone while being questioned by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Legal experts say border searches of electronic devices remain a legal gray area with conflicting court rulings.
Samuel Tunick, a Georgia activist, has been charged with a felony for allegedly wiping his phone during a search by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). According to court filings, CBP told Tunick they needed to search his device for child sexual abuse material. His attorneys argue this was a pretext to investigate his involvement in the Stop Cop City protests in Atlanta.
Tunick refused consent and repeatedly asked for a lawyer, but CBP officers said they didn't need a warrant. He eventually provided his password, but when agents entered it, the phone rebooted and data disappeared. Prosecutors claim Tunick used GrapheneOS's "duress password" feature to wipe the device.
Since Donald Trump returned to office, device searches at ports of entry have increased. Federal courts are divided on the legality of warrantless searches: the Fourth Circuit allows manual searches without a warrant, while a New York federal judge requires a warrant for any search. Tunick's case echoes that of Kurbonali Sultanov, who was pressured to unlock his phone at JFK Airport.
Activists report rising surveillance under the Trump administration. In September, Trump designated "Antifa" as a terrorist organization, and in June, eight activists were sentenced to long prison terms for alleged Antifa ties. A State Department report linked left-wing groups to foreign influence.
Privacy experts advise backing up and wiping devices before travel, not during an interrogation. "A judge is unlikely to view the use of a duress password sympathetically," said William Budington of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
