Samuel Tunick Faces Federal Charge Over Pixel Wipe at Atlanta Airport in 2025

3 articles · Updated · Android Authority · Jul 24

Federal prosecutors say Samuel Tunick used a GrapheneOS duress PIN to wipe his Google Pixel during a January 2025 border search at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport.
The indictment treats the alleged wipe as destruction of property to prevent government seizure, a use of the law experts told The Guardian they had not previously seen tied to the privacy feature.
GrapheneOS’s duress PIN looks like a normal unlock code but irreversibly erases the device without a confirmation prompt, making the feature central to the case.
Tunick’s lawyers want the evidence suppressed, arguing agents denied his requests for a lawyer, failed to give Miranda warnings and conducted an unreasonable phone seizure.
A judge is not expected to rule before late October, leaving broader questions about whether anti-coercion phone tools can trigger criminal liability when used against law enforcement.