US Charges Traveler Over ‘Duress’ Password That Wiped Phone Data

Tunick returned from overseas on January 24, 2025, when Customs and Border Protection officers seized his device, which was running GrapheneOS. The custom operating system includes a specific security feature: a duress password that clears the phone’s contents if entered in place of the standard unlock code. According to the indictment, when agents entered the code provided by Tunick, the screen went blank and the device restarted, effectively deleting its contents. Prosecutors subsequently charged him with destroying property to prevent government seizure, a federal statute rarely applied to digital data.

Defense attorneys are now fighting to suppress the evidence, arguing that the initial detention and seizure were unlawful. They contend that authorities denied Tunick access to legal counsel and lacked a legitimate warrant to search his device. The motion suggests the government’s interest was not rooted in child exploitation, as agents claimed, but rather in investigating Tunick’s involvement with the 'Defend the Atlanta Forest' movement. Digital security experts note that this is the first known instance of a traveler facing criminal charges for utilizing a duress password, setting a high-stakes precedent for how constitutional rights and digital privacy intersect at U.S. borders.