US accuses American of allegedly wiping his phone using a ‘duress’ password during border search

The U.S. Justice Department charged Atlanta resident Samuel Tunick with allegedly wiping his phone at Hartsfield-Jackson airport using a GrapheneOS duress passcode during a border inspection.

His lawyers are trying to suppress the evidence, arguing the search and seizure were unlawful and that agents lacked a warrant and proper justification.

The case could become an important test of how far border agents can search phones and whether using privacy features to erase data can be treated as obstruction.