Atlanta activist Samuel Tunick has been charged with a federal felony after wiping his phone during a border search in early 2025, in what appears to be a novel use of a law against destroying property to prevent its seizure. Tunick, involved with the "Defend the Atlanta Forest" group opposing the "Cop City" police training facility, was stopped by Customs and Border Protection agents who threatened to confiscate his phone unless he unlocked it; instead, he gave them a "duress code" from his phone's privacy-focused GrapheneOS software, which permanently erased all data. His lawyers argue he was deliberately targeted over his activism rather than subjected to a routine check, and are seeking to have the evidence suppressed.

According to court documents, CBP had allegedly flagged Tunick for "suspected terrorism activities" linked to his activism before he landed, though agents told him during questioning they were searching for child abuse material. GrapheneOS, which runs only on Google Pixel 6 and later devices, offers a duress code feature that irreversibly wipes all data and eSIMs when entered instead of the normal unlock code; agents confiscated the phone anyway despite it being wiped. Prosecutors are using a rarely invoked statute barring the destruction of property to prevent seizure, a legal approach that privacy experts at the EFF say they have never seen applied this way before; Tunick faces up to five years in prison if convicted.