As much as I disagree with and detest those Antifa asshats and everything they stand for, this news item grabbed my attention. Sam Tunick was stopped for interrogation in Atlanta’s airport while on the way home from vacation in the Dominican Republic. What he didn’t know is the feds put him on a terrorism watchlist because of his association with the protests of Cop City.
The agents took him to a room and began an inspection, but all their questions were centered on child sexual abuse images. (If the Feds want you, they always allege some sort of child porn charges. Ask the Branch Davidians how that plays out.) Tunick asked four times during the interrogation to speak with a lawyer, but was refused access to an attorney each time. Additionally, the agents produced no warrant and did not read Tunick his rights. They tried to use the “port of entry” exception to search him and his belongings.
Agent Findley and several others repeatedly asked Tunick to open his phone during the interrogation, telling him they would seize it if he did not. When he finally provided a passcode, “the screen went blank, flashed several times and the phone appeared to restart”, according to the motion.
It turns out the phone was a Google Pixel running GrapheneOS. One of the security features the OS has is a “duress” code that, if entered, resets the phone to factory settings and wipes the memory. It’s such an issue that police in the EU assume you are a criminal if you have this OS installed. Anyhow, the Feds have charged him with a Federal felony:
On or about January 24, 2025, in the Northern District of Georgia, the defendant, SAMUEL TUNICK, before and during the search for and seizure of property by Customs and Border Patrol Tactical Terrorism Response Team Supervisory Officer L.C., a person authorized to make such search and seizure, did knowingly destroy, damage, waste, dispose of, and otherwise take any action to delete the digital contents of a Google Pixel cellular phone, for the purpose of preventing and impairing the Government’s lawful authority to take said property into its custody and control, in violation of Title 18, Untied [sic] States Code, Section 2232(a).
Duress passwords exist for scenarios like border crossings, where individuals face immense pressure to unlock devices without traditional legal protections. The US has long maintained that routine border searches don’t require warrants, creating what civil liberties groups call a “Constitution-free zone” for travelers’ digital lives. A 2019 federal court ruling found suspicionless phone searches at borders violated the Fourth Amendment, but the government continues doing it anyway.
I don’t have a problem with this. I am less afraid of criminals than I am the government, who seems to overlook this kind of behavior if you have certain connections. Remember Hillary Clinton and Bleachbit?
Jury nullification is a thing. That’s all I will say about that.
15 Comments
Steve · July 29, 2026 at 6:55 am
You should note that the “Border Crossing zone” has been defined by the Feds to be up to 100 miles from any location with access to an international border. So, 100 miles from the Mississippi barge ports, the Great Lakes, any international airport, etc. Under that expansive definition, there is little area in the US that doesn’t fall under the “Border Crossing zone” definition. States like Florida or the North East are entirely covered by this.
Agent Powers: Border Patrol agents can set up permanent or temporary traffic checkpoints and question people about citizenship without a warrant
WalPhone · July 29, 2026 at 7:24 am
Jury nullification is indeed a thing, and that’s why people who are believed to know it exists get excluded from juries.
The ignorant populace is how Siloh Hendrix
oldvet50 · July 29, 2026 at 7:33 am
Of course jury nullification is a thing but I can’t seem to ever be called for jury duty. My daughter says its because I registered R. She said she was never called until she changed hers from R to NPA. She gets called every other year. Funny how that works.
JimmyPx · July 29, 2026 at 8:18 am
This Fall I’m going out of the country for vacation.
Customs can search all of my stuff and that’s fine but searching my phone and electronics worries me. It’s NOT that I have anything to hide but that it is so easy to plant something.
They could plant some kiddy porn and there is no way that you could prove your innocence.
This a blatant violation of the 4th Amendment which states:
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects,against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
Steve · July 29, 2026 at 9:34 am
I’d prefer to just deport him. Revoke citizenship or whatever is required. Not like we need more protesters. Particularly the kind who have time to just camp out at the protest site for weeks at a time.
I know nothing at all about Sam, but these freaks whose career seems to be protesting instead of producing probably do, and an example here and there might do a great deal of good.
SiG · July 29, 2026 at 10:32 am
I interpret the “constitution-free zone” entirely different than they seem to. I believe only citizens should be entitled to live under the constitution’s protections, and it’s entirely acceptable for Border Patrol or ICE to assume people crossing the border with no controls whatsoever aren’t citizens at all – especially at times and places that are more like “sneaking” than checking in with authorities.
That Antifa guy, Sam Tunick, is a citizen and should have more protection. Whom do I distrust more, Antifa or the Fed.gov? Tough one, since both seem like they’re “trust them about as far as you can throw the continent.” It’s just that the Fed.gov currently has tons more power than Antifa does, so I’m more afraid of and cautious with them.
rick · July 29, 2026 at 12:40 pm
Twice, two different court rooms, two different districts, summoned for jury duty, before voir dire, the judge proclamed to the gallery, that any mention of nullification, even a whiff of nullification will result in contempt of court and possible one year jail sentence.
Myself and one other looked at one another in shock. The judge glared at us.
He and me had been quietly discussing several books written about the Founders and certain court cases. Our discussion was while waiting to be seated then while the judge organized himself.
Bob Adkinson · July 29, 2026 at 4:28 pm
“I am less afraid of criminals than I am the government”
Exactly!! I can protect myself and mine from the hoodlums, but the might of the gov’t is so out of porportion….0
And jury nullification is indeed a thing.
Dirty Dingus McGee · July 29, 2026 at 4:44 pm
My neck cannot tell the difference between a right or left jackboot on it.
Rob · July 29, 2026 at 10:28 pm
I have that same phone. I bought a Pixel and loaded GrapheneOS on it. I love this phone. Most secure and most private OS available.
I can run Google Maps on the second profile if I need to. All apps run sandboxed so that they can’t look outside themselves to harvest data. When I’m finished, I just close the profile and Google’s gone, like you shut down the phone.
I highly recommend GrapheneOS!
Unknownsailor · July 29, 2026 at 11:10 pm
I have jury duty next month. I am a fully aware juror, willing and able to dispense justice on the law and the defendant. I am not going to go out of my way to tell anyone this, but I won’t lie about it either. I consider it my duty as a citizen to stand jury duty.
I had it 2 years ago, and made it onto a 3rd degree assault case (in WA laying hands on a police officer is 3rd degree assault.)
The officer decided it would be a great idea to try and restrain an EDP with his hands handcuffed by standing behind him and grabbing him around the waist.
The officer got his gonads twisted and pulled.
Now, I don’t have any sort of belt in any kind of MMA style, but even I know better than to try and restrain someone having an episode in such a way where said suspect has easy reach of my balls.
We were a hung jury, 10-2 not guilty/guilty, and the judge dismissed it. I told the prosecutor that the cop should have known better, and maybe he won’t do that again. 🙂
Divemedic · July 30, 2026 at 8:02 am
I don’t know all of the details like you do so I won’t judge your decision, but in general terms I don’t think that someone putting themselves in a bad position excuses the criminal from his actions. Just because the cop stupidly placed his balls in easy reach doesn’t absolve the person who takes advantage of that.
Years and years ago in my previous life as a paramedic, I ran a call on a man who had been robbed. The cop blamed the victim because the man had just come home from WalMart, where he was wearing his Rolex. The cop said something to the effect of “What did he expect, wearing an expensive watch like that to WalMart? That’s begging to get robbed.”
I disagree. While it’s not smart to do so, the criminal behavior of the critter is not on the victim
Unknownsailor · July 30, 2026 at 10:31 am
That wasn’t why the acquitters were acquitting. One of the elements of the crime that the State had to prove was intent, and the assistant DA didn’t even try. The two “guilty” votes were of the “the police must have had a reason to charge him, so guilty” variety. They stuck to their vote hard, too, after some pressure from the rest of us, so though they were misguided, I had to give them props for not buckling to social pressure.
It was the assistant DA’s first case, and she was a former 911 dispatcher while she was going to law school. She took notes after the case, when she came to the jury room and asked the jury their thoughts. Learning never stops. 😉
Divemedic · July 30, 2026 at 10:59 am
Like I said- I won’t second guess your decision. You heard all of the evidence and I didn’t.
Steve · July 30, 2026 at 8:03 pm
Asked my attorney about this, and he said don’t try this. Just use Graphene and surrender it. They will likely charge him with destruction of evidence, and if they win, they can charge him with pretty much anything, say the evidence was on the phone, and the jury will be instructed to assume it was.
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