United States v. Tunick

Case Overview

Samuel (Sam) Tunick, an Atlanta resident connected to the movement protesting the Atlanta police training center known as "Cop City," was charged after a Customs and Border Protection search of his phone. According to reporting, when CBP agents demanded his passcode during a border search, Tunick provided a GrapheneOS "duress" password, a feature that wipes the device's contents rather than unlocking it, and the phone erased its data before it could be seized. Prosecutors charged him under 18 U.S.C. § 2232, which makes it a crime to destroy or remove property to prevent its seizure by authorities. Digital-rights advocates are watching the case closely as an early test of whether using a phone's self-destruct or duress feature during a government search can be prosecuted as destruction of evidence.