- The US government is prosecuting American citizen Sam Tunick for allegedly providing authorities with a fake ‘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.
- The government is turning to a little-known statute that makes it illegal to destroy or damage property to stop authorities from seizing it.
- They allege that Tunick used a feature of the privacy-focused to wipe his phone by giving authorities a duress password, instead of the actual passcode to unlock the phone.
- Tunick’s defense argues that the detention and seizure were unlawful, and therefore all evidence should be tossed.
- According to Tunick’s attorneys, agents refused him access to a lawyer, did not provide a warrant, or inform him of his legal rights.
- The government has countered that they were not required to produce a warrant because Tunick had not yet been granted permission to enter the US.
US citizen Sam Tunick is facing charges for allegedly wiping his phone at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport on January 24, 2025, during an interrogation about child exploitation images. Tunick reportedly provided federal agents with a fake ‘duress password’ to protect his data.12
His defense argues that the detention was unlawful, claiming agents denied him access to a lawyer and did not inform him of his legal rights. They assert that the request for his phone was made under false pretenses, as Tunick had not yet been granted permission to enter the US.7
The government is invoking a rarely-used statute that prohibits the destruction of property to prevent seizure. This legal approach raises questions about the balance between national security and individual rights, especially in a climate of increasing scrutiny at US borders. Marlon Kautz, a member of the movement, emphasized the importance of protecting private data against unconstitutional searches, stating, “we all have a right to secure our private data against unconstitutional searches. And we should — especially in a time of rising authoritarianism.”
The case highlights the heightened tensions surrounding border security and the treatment of citizens under the current administration, where entering the US has become more complicated, even for American citizens.
“The man, Sam Tunick, allegedly used a duress password to wipe his phone when federal agents tried to seize it at Atlanta's airport, and prosecutors are using a rarely-used statute prohibiting destruction of property to stop seizure. His lawyers argue the detention was an unlawful pretext for a fishing expedition into his connections.”
