US Prosecutes Citizen for Using Duress Password to Wipe Phone at Border, Testing Whether a Built-in Privacy Feature Can Be Criminalized

Federal prosecutors charged Sam Tunick under a property-destruction statute for entering a GrapheneOS duress password that wiped his phone during a warrantless border search at Atlanta's airport in January 2025. Agents denied counsel and Miranda warnings. The case tests whether using a privacy feature as designed can be prosecuted as evidence destruction absent a warrant.