DHS lied about why it searched activist’s GrapheneOS phone
Activist could face five years for wiping phone.
A smartphone behind prison bars, with a 5 years imprisonment document. Image by Cybernews.
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- DHS agents seized Stop Cop City activist Samuel Tunick’s GrapheneOS phone at Atlanta airport in January 2025.
- Court records say border officers falsely claimed they were checking the phone for child abuse material.
- Tunick gave agents a passcode that wiped the device instead of unlocking it.
- He faces up to five years in prison for allegedly obstructing the government’s search.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
Federal agents lied about searching for child abuse material to seize an activist's phone. He now faces 5 years in prison for handing them a passcode that wiped the device.
In January 2025, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials seized Stop Cop City activist Samuel Tunick at Atlanta International Airport based on an alert regarding "suspected terrorist activities."
An investigation email, obtained by 404 Media, reveals the instructions ordering the border staff to send Tunick to the inspection facility to scrutinize his devices.
During the process, Customs and Border Protection staff lied to Tunick, telling him that they were checking his phone for “kiddie porn.”
Newly filed court records disclose the deception, with Tunick’s lawyers pointing out that the accusation was a poor excuse for the intrusion.
It was nothing more than a pretext for a fishing expedition into the depths of Mr. Tunick’s devices,the lawyers wrote.
Instead of providing direct access to his security-focused GrapheneOS phone, Tunick provided a code that, when entered, completely wiped all content from the device.
A GrapheneOS device is a Google Pixel phone that runs on an open-source operating system, replacing the standard Android and removing Google tracking.
Despite the severe circumstances of being stopped, Tunick is not suspected of any actual crimes beyond wiping the device.
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Privacy implications
The criminal charges that Tunick faces are for taking the action to "delete the digital contents of a Google Pixel cellular phone, for the purpose of preventing and impairing the Government’s lawful authority."
If convicted of the charge, Tunick could face a maximum penalty of 5 years in a federal prison.
His defense attorney, Matthew Dodge, commented on the “extraordinarily rare” circumstances of the situation. Dodge added that there was only one other crime he had found, involving drug trafficking, where someone had been charged under this obscure statute.
Tunick’s legal team has attempted to have the evidence thrown out due to the duplicitous tactics of the border officials.
The defendant himself has previously spoken of the long-term implications of the case, claiming that "the government hopes to set a precedent that no one has the right to privacy."
