# The Duress PIN On Trial: How a Silent Kill Switch Became a Federal Destruction of Evidence Charge
*Canonical page:* https://truthscore.com/source/e09d88e7
*Machine twins:* https://truthscore.com/source/e09d88e7.md · JSON at https://truthscore.com/api/v1

Publisher: Yahoo News · published 2026-07-28 · read 2026-09-12

Original: https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/duress-pin-trial-silent-kill-184402031.html

*A source is testimony, not proof. The document itself is never republished here.*

## Who is named (7)

- [Sam Tunick](https://truthscore.com/entity/1d36b321)
- [U.S. Customs and Border Protection](https://truthscore.com/entity/2732edf0)
- [Department of Justice](https://truthscore.com/entity/5710be16)
- [duress password](https://truthscore.com/entity/b4e91543)
- [Google Pixel](https://truthscore.com/entity/b6b4f9f2)
- [18 U.S.C. § 2232(a)](https://truthscore.com/entity/b81d3747)
- [GrapheneOS](https://truthscore.com/entity/f85938f4)

## What it added

- [Tunick provided a US Customs and Border Protection officer with a duress password, and when used to forcibly unlock a phone the duress password wipes all data…](https://truthscore.com/claim/88bd58e7)
  > Tunick ran into trouble after providing a US Customs and Border Protection officer with a "duress password," one of GrapheneOS' options for strengthening a user's right to privacy. Once used to forcibly unlock a phone, the duress password/PIN wipes all data on the device, including eSIM content. The process happens instantly, can't be stopped, and it's irreversible.
- [The phone's data was completely erased, including every file, contact, and eSIM.](https://truthscore.com/claim/67991834)
  > The phone's data was gone — every file, every contact, every eSIM.
- [Prosecutors charged Samuel Tunick under 18 U.S.C. § 2232(a).](https://truthscore.com/claim/0193de7e)
  > Prosecutors charged him under 18 U.S.C. § 2232(a) — a statute designed for physical evidence destruction, like torching a warehouse before a raid
- [Samuel Tunick has pleaded not guilty.](https://truthscore.com/claim/926a2bc3)
  > He has pleaded not guilty
- [The case remains ongoing as of July 2026.](https://truthscore.com/claim/357e6df3)
  > the case remains ongoing as of July 2026
- [Authorities claimed they were searching for child exploitation material.](https://truthscore.com/claim/67854ed0)
  > Authorities claimed they were searching for child exploitation material, according to some reports — though that claim remains unverified.
- [A legal commentator said that without the DOJ being able to show the phone contained information showing a crime was committed, they would not be able to…](https://truthscore.com/claim/5532c856)
  > "Absent [the DOJ] being able to show… the phone contained information that showed a crime was committed… they're not going to be able to convict him of this crime," according to a legal commentator cited in reporting on the case.
- [No U.S. court has ruled on whether triggering a duress password during a lawful search constitutes unlawful destruction of evidence.](https://truthscore.com/claim/1f577024)
  > No U.S. court has ruled on whether triggering a duress password during a lawful search constitutes unlawful destruction of evidence.
- [That ruling is still coming.](https://truthscore.com/claim/2bdaaf5c)
  > That ruling is still coming.
- [The duress PIN feature hasn't changed.](https://truthscore.com/claim/f243e850)
  > The feature hasn't changed.
- [A Customs and Border Protection agent entered a passcode into Samuel Tunick's Google Pixel at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport in January 2025, causing the…](https://truthscore.com/claim/ff390c51)
  > At Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport in January 2025, a Customs and Border Protection agent entered a passcode into Samuel Tunick's Google Pixel.
  > The screen went blank, flashed, and restarted.
  > The phone's data was gone — every file, every contact, every eSIM.
- [GrapheneOS's duress password is designed to look like a normal unlock until it isn't.](https://truthscore.com/claim/3f9df1b7)
  > GrapheneOS's duress password is designed to look like a normal unlock — until it isn't.

## What it cost

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