Is it illegal to trick the US government into wiping your phone during a questionably legal search?

Samuel Tunick, a Georgia man and activist, was charged with a felony for allegedly wiping his phone during a search by Customs and Border Protection. The search was purportedly to determine if his device contained child sexual abuse material, but Tunick's attorneys claim it was a pretext to investigate his connections to the Stop Cop City protests. Tunick's case raises questions about the legality of tricking the US government into wiping a phone during a potentially unlawful search. The incident highlights the complexities of device searches at airports and the balance between national security and individual privacy rights.

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