DOJ Prosecutes Atlanta Man Over a GrapheneOS Duress Password That Wiped His Phone at the Border
A federal prosecution over a wiped phone at an Atlanta airport has nothing to do with Bitcoin on paper. The precedent it could set reaches directly into how anyone protects a hardware wallet at the border.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE AIRPORT
Samuel Tunick, an Atlanta resident, is the first known American charged under federal law for allegedly using a "duress password" during a warrantless border search at Hartsfield-Jackson airport in January 2025. Agents pulled him into secondary inspection as he returned from overseas, and when he gave them what he said was his passcode, the feature built into GrapheneOS deleted all encryption keys and wiped the device instantly and irreversibly.
Tunick's attorneys say he was denied access to a lawyer and never told his rights during the stop. They also argue the government's real interest wasn't the stated justification for the search but Tunick's association with an environmental movement opposing a law enforcement training facility in Atlanta known as Cop City.
THE CHARGE THAT SURPRISED EVEN LAWYERS
Prosecutors charged Tunick under 18 U.S.C. § 2232, a federal statute that makes it unlawful to knowingly destroy or damage property to prevent its seizure by authorities. Tunick's own public defender, Matthew Dodge, told TechCrunch that seeing this statute used in an indictment was "incredibly rare." Security researchers consulted on the case said they hadn't seen charges brought this way before either. Tunick has pleaded not guilty.
WHY THIS MATTERS FOR BITCOIN HOLDERS
Several Bitcoin hardware wallets ship with a similar duress feature. Enter that code under coercion, and the device either opens a decoy wallet or wipes itself rather than exposing your real keys. It exists for exactly the kind of situation the border presents: someone physically compelled to hand over access.
The government has long argued it can search a device without a warrant until a person is formally admitted into the country. If entering a duress code counts as destroying property the government meant to seize, that logic doesn't stop at a phone. It applies just as easily to a hardware wallet carrying real Bitcoin.
THE OPEN QUESTION
A federal judge is expected to rule on Tunick's motion to suppress no earlier than the end of October. That ruling will decide whether triggering a duress wipe counts as criminal destruction of evidence, a question that will matter to anyone who has ever considered leaving a seed phrase, or a hardware wallet, at home before crossing a border.
This story comes from the Simply Bitcoin Live show. Watch the full episode.
