DOJ Prosecutes Activist Under Property-Destruction Statute for Wiping His Phone at Border

The DOJ is prosecuting Atlanta activist Sam Tunick under 18 USC § 2232 for entering a passcode that erased his GrapheneOS phone during a January 2025 airport interrogation tied to Cop City activism. Experts at the EFF and elsewhere say they have not seen a statute designed for physical property applied to digital-device wiping. A suppression motion is pending.