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

The government is prosecuting US citizen Sam Tunick for allegedly providing authorities with a "duress password" that wiped his phone when they tried to seize it at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport on January 24th, 2025. Federal agents detained Tunick at the airport, allegedly questioning him about child exploitation images.
Reported by 1 outlet — The Verge. See all sources ↓
The government is prosecuting US citizen Sam Tunick for allegedly providing authorities with a "duress password" that wiped his phone when they tried to seize it at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport on January 24th, 2025. Federal agents detained Tunick at the airport, allegedly questioning him about child exploitation images. However, a motion filed by Tunick's lawyers argues this was simply "a pretext for a fishing expedition into Mr Tunick's connections" to the Stop Cop City movement in Atlanta. The government is turning to a little-known and rarely-used statute that makes it illegal to destroy or damage property to stop authorities fr … Read the full story at The Verge.
Read the full report at The Verge ↗
Why it matters
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- What's the story?
- The government is prosecuting US citizen Sam Tunick for allegedly providing authorities with a "duress password" that wiped his phone when they tried to seize it at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport on January 24th, 2025. Federal agents detained Tunick at the airport, allegedly questioning him about child exploitation images.
- How widely is it covered?
- 1 outlet, average source rating 6.0/10.
- When was it last updated?
- 14m ago.
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The US is charging an American citizen for wiping his phone at the border
Sources1TypeCoverageThe Verge