One of the unfortunate quirks of the American system is that you can't lie to the government, but the government can lie to you. Samuel Tunick found himself on the receiving end of this setup last year at Atlanta International Airport. When agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) asked for his phone password, he allegedly gave them a self-destruct code that wiped his data. Tunick now faces five years in prison for destroying evidence.

It turns out that the feds were lying to Tunick the entire time. A new court filing, first reported by 404 Media, shows that the DHS had sent out an order to seize Tunick's phone over his involvement in environmentalist protests in Atlanta. When he landed at the airport, however, agents told Tunick that they were looking for "kiddie porn" and he would be allowed to leave with his phone if he cooperated. They also repeatedly denied him access to his lawyer when he asked.

"There can be no real debate that if law enforcement had acted similarly elsewhere in Atlanta, their actions would be unconstitutional. But the government says it was entitled to act this way because Mr. Tunick was returning from an international vacation" in the Dominican Republic, his lawyers wrote in the filing, which includes internal DHS communications and excerpts from his interrogation video.

U.S. law recognizes a "border exception" to Fourth Amendment privacy rights, allowing federal agents to search incoming travelers for contraband. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) claims that this exemption also allows them to hold travelers for questioning and search their electronic data. Tunick's case reveals just how widely the agency stretches this loophole.

A few hours before Tunick landed, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent Travis Mcghie emailed the CBP station in Atlanta with his photo and information, stating that he is under investigation for "suspected terrorist activities." (Tunick is involved in Save the Atlanta Forest, also known as Stop Cop City, a protest movement against a local police training center.) The email asked CBP to "conduct a 100% baggage exam, retain all electronics and collect passcodes," stating that the HSI will be at the airport to conduct an interrogation.

Pulled into the secondary screening room, Tunick "almost immediately" told CBP officers that "I don't really want to speak without a lawyer any more," according to the filing, which cites the interrogation tape. He would ask for a lawyer multiple times.

The agents asked Tunick if he had "kiddie porn" on his phone and stated that "because you're refusing to talk, we have the authority to go through your phone to see what we're looking for." One of them, Latoya Castro, told Tunick that "either you can give us your password so that we can go through it no problem, or you can refuse to do that, unfortunately, we will have to seize your phone."

Both of those statements were a lie, of course. The HSI's email had asked CBP to take Tunick's phone, whether or not he cooperated.

The lie about child porn may not only have been meant to intimidate Tunick. While there are contradictory lower court rulings about the border search exemption, some courts have ruled that the CBP can only search electronics for "digital contraband," or files that are themselves illegal. A search for child sex abuse material would be on stronger legal ground than a search for mere evidence of other crimes.

Tunick was using GrapheneOS, a secure phone system that allows users to set both a real password and a "duress password" that wipes out all data when entered. The interrogation tape shows his phone appearing to reset after he gave the officers a passcode. HSI agent Nathan Burnham and FBI agent Andrea Coble then entered the room.

"You are not under arrest. Once these gentlemen are done with you, pursuant to your entry into the country, you're free to leave," Burnham said, referring to the CBP officers.

Tunick's lawyers argue that the judge should throw out the phone password Tunick provided and everything that resulted from entering it as an "involuntary" response made under "unlawful interrogation," because the CBP agents did not read Tunick his Fifth Amendment rights and ignored his multiple requests to consult with his lawyer before answering their questions.

The CBP claims that secondary screening at the border doesn't count as a criminal investigation, so detainees don't have the same rights as criminal suspects. "Since the international arrivals inspection is an administrative function, CBP policy and federal regs do not permit the presence of lawyers during secondary examinations," a spokesman told Reason earlier this year.

But Tunick's lawyers insist that his experience was "far outside" a normal border crossing: He was accused of a serious crime to his face, faced an investigation for a different serious crime he didn't know about, and clearly could not leave the situation until he gave information to government agents.

"I hope people understand that the charges against me are meant to intimidate people against protecting their data and their privacy, and the government hopes to set a precedent that no one has the right to privacy," Tunick told 404 Media. 

Defend the Atlanta Forest, the movement that Tunick is involved with, has been a major nuisance for authorities in Georgia. Protesters attacked and burned construction equipment throughout 2022, and police shot a protester in 2023 under unclear circumstances, claiming that they were fired at during a raid.

The Trump administration has brought down the federal government against the movement. In June 2026, the Department of Justice brought federal charges against two alleged arsonists, citing National Security Presidential Memo 7, which directs the feds to go after left-wing domestic terrorism.

But beyond the email line about "suspected terrorist activities," there is no indication of what specific crimes the feds suspected Tunick of, or why they suspected him. And the whole setup of the interrogation was designed to hide those answers. In fact, instead of charging Tunick under typical obstruction or evidence-destruction laws, federal prosecutors chose a rarely-used statute that doesn't require them to disclose what the underlying investigation was about.

"Many times the government wants to highlight what it was trying to investigate because that ups the stakes on what the defendant was doing," former prosecutor Daniel Richman told The New York Times. "This is a case where I think they're trying to avoid exactly that by focusing only on the destruction, and not what the investigation was about." 

The post Homeland Security Lied About Child Porn To Search Activist's Phone appeared first on Reason Magazine.

As protests continue to ripple across European cities, the Italian Green MEP Benedetta Scuderi reflects on her own experiences of police repression, from holding a peace flag near a Brussels protest to facing the fury that followed the flotilla to Gaza. She spoke to EUobserver about the EU’s housing priorities, Italy’s elections, and how the far-right has captured freedom of expression for its own use.

You were detained by police in July, a few hundred meters from a far-right protest calling for “re-migration”. How has the rise of the far-right stalled some key areas, like freedom of speech?

The rise of the far-right is really threatening European democracy as we know it. It has never been perfect, but it allowed people to protest. Now, we only let certain people express their dissent. 

In the European Parliament, people can discriminate and use hate speech because of their freedom of expression, but as you go out of parliament with a Palestinian flag, then you’re a terrorist. So, how is it possible that last Strasbourg plenary, I could hear my colleagues saying that Muslims are a threat, and there are no consequences? And then I go out and I say, “Free Palestine,” and I’ll be arrested.

This double standard is extremely problematic. The fact that not allowing fascist symbols within the parliament also meaning that no other symbol can be shown, is not okay. Because we need to be fine to say that certain things are discriminatory and against European values, without having to say that everything else is not allowed. 

We also need to be able to accept dissent. What is happening all over Europe, with violence increasing towards activists, we’re seeing it target only a certain kind of activists. In Italy, fascist protests are ignored by police. Farmers can come to the parliament with tractors, and that’s completely fine. And then we have 20 people doing a sit-in for Palestine in front of the parliament, and getting their heads smashed. 

This article continues, but the full version is available only to EUobserver.com subscribers. Visit account.euobserver.com/membership

Leaders criticised for spreading misleading information as France prepares for further protests this weekend

Emmanuel Macron has accused Donald Trump and other foreign leaders of making “stupid comments” about France’s street unrest for political gain, as the country prepared for more protests this weekend.

Speaking during a visit to Qatar, the French president did not name names but said “manipulation of information” after Saturday’s riots had led to “comments that are as unacceptable as they are stupid, from many people, including foreign leaders”.

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© Photograph: Tessier Benoit/ABACA/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Tessier Benoit/ABACA/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Tessier Benoit/ABACA/Shutterstock

In Lyon, one of France's largest cities, authorities also renewed a curfew in the city center from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., saying no disturbances had been recorded overnight.

In Lyon, one of France's largest cities, authorities also renewed a curfew in the city center from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., saying no disturbances had been recorded overnight.

Demonstrators at Rey Juan Carlos University denounce his policies threaten public higher education.

On Wednesday, hundreds of Spanish students gathered at Rey Juan Carlos University (URJC) to protest the visit of far-right Argentine President Javier Milei, who was scheduled to participate in a forum during his stay in Madrid.

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Armed with pots and pans, whistles, Palestinian flags, and banners, the students waited for the Argentine leader, who arrived at the university escorted by several security vehicles with tinted windows.

“Milei, fascist, you’re on our list” and “Milei, you rat, die,” social activists opposed to the presence of the far-right politician shouted in unison.

The URJC for Public Education Platform has called for Milei’s invitation to be canceled, arguing that his presence contradicts the values of a public university.

El fascista de Javier Milei se encuentra ahora mismo en el campus de Vicálvaro de la URJC impartiendo una charla, acompañado de Díaz Ayuso.

Las estudiantes nos negamos a que nuestros campus sean utilizados como altavoces para los discursos reaccionarios. No pasarán. pic.twitter.com/fkriIKhmnn

— Sindicato de Estudiantes (@SindicaEstudian) October 21, 2026

The text reads, “The fascist Javier Milei is currently at the URJC’s Vicálvaro campus giving a talk, accompanied by Diaz Ayuso. We, the students, refuse to let our campuses be used as a platform for reactionary discourse. They shall not pass.”

“The campus must be a free space where we can all express our opinions,” said Sara Pazos Garcia, a doctoral student in health sciences, who denounced the university administration’s failure to respond to her statement rejecting the visit.

Alejandro, a spokesperson for the organization Socialism, criticized the university model promoted by Milei and Isabel Diaz Ayuso, the conservative president of the Community of Madrid.

“They represent the same university model, which involves defunding public universities to drive the working class out of them,” he said.

The protest took place under a heavy security deployment, with dozens of riot police officers stationed in front of the library and six police vans on the campus’ main street, while demonstrators chanted, “Police out of the university.”

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

High debt, tight budgets and long-standing structural problems leave few quick or easy solutions.

Recent protests across Europe have brought social and economic strains into sharper focus, reflecting concerns that extend beyond prices to housing, incomes, public services and economic security. Governments face growing pressure to respond, but high debt, tight budgets and long-standing structural problems leave few quick or easy solutions.

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Holding a cardboard sign reading “I am 81 and being evicted,” retiree Maria Teresa Faleiro joined crowds in Lisbon protesting against soaring living costs and a deepening housing crisis.

Despite never missing a payment on the 724-euro (813-U.S. dollar) monthly rent for the home she has lived in for 22 years, Faleiro faced eviction after her landlords refused to renew her lease. With nowhere else to go, she plans to appeal the court-ordered eviction, she said.

Faleiro’s struggle highlights the growing plight many pensioners in Portugal face in securing affordable housing. It also reflects a broader cost-of-living squeeze across Europe, where thousands have taken to the streets to protest rising housing, food, fuel and energy costs, even as headline inflation has eased.

In France, protests that began with students demanding better school conditions and more teaching staff broadened into nationwide demonstrations over rising living costs and wider social grievances.

Violence soon erupted on the sidelines of some rallies, with clashes, looting and arson reported in several cities. The historic city hall in Limoges was largely destroyed by fire.

In Spain, more than 50 protests took place in Madrid and dozens of other Spanish cities on Oct. 3, demanding action on soaring rents, evictions and housing affordability after the government failed to pass emergency housing legislation.

Elsewhere, protests in Italy and Belgium have reflected a broader mix of concerns over wages, prices, public services and fiscal tightening. In Milan, hundreds of black-clad demonstrators besieged Piazza del Duomo on Saturday, throwing firecrackers and bottles at police. At least four officers and 20 protesters were injured, while about 50 demonstrators were detained, according to the Italian news agency ANSA.

Gen Z is leading protests across the world after a global lurch to the right.

Neoliberal governments have gutted publicly funded services, while many young people fear entering a barren job market and a future overshadowed by instability.

Frustrations fomented on social media… pic.twitter.com/Sp818NCL6I

— Novara Media (@novaramedia) October 14, 2026

ECONOMIC SECURITY UNDER STRAIN

Beyond higher daily expenses, mounting financial pressures are fueling a broader sense of economic insecurity across the continent. Although inflation has eased from its peak, households continue to feel the cumulative impact of earlier price increases.

The European Central Bank said food prices across euro-area countries were already 20 percent to 57 percent higher in August 2025 than at the end of 2019. Renewed energy pressures have added to the squeeze, with euro-area consumer energy inflation reaching 18.9 percent in September 2026, according to Eurostat.

Housing pressures are particularly acute among young Europeans. Data released by Eurostat showed that in 2025, 26.9 percent of young people aged 15 to 29 in the European Union (EU) lived in overcrowded households. And 9.1 percent of them lived in households spending at least 40 percent of their disposable income on housing, way above the 7.7 percent recorded for the total population.

Similar pressures are visible beyond the EU. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, property prices have risen by about 70 percent over the past five years, real estate agent Haris Kadic told the Federation News Agency (FENA).

Local media also reported that some residents are borrowing money or relying on help from children and friends to cover basic expenses as housing and fuel costs rise.

Emmanuel Conte, Milan’s city councilor responsible for housing, told Italian daily la Repubblica this month that when people who keep a city running can no longer afford to live there, housing is no longer just a social and economic issue but a political one.

Similarly, Jean Faniel, director general of Belgium’s Centre for Socio-Political Research and Information, told Belgian media outlet BRUZZ that violence accompanying recent protests should be understood in the context of mounting social frustration.

Faniel said peaceful demonstrations and violent confrontations are potentially interconnected rather than entirely separate phenomena, noting that successive austerity measures have placed mounting pressure on people’s living conditions, generating frustration and resentment.

Paris, 17 octobre 2026 ✨
📹 instagram : raphaelmetivet pic.twitter.com/1lztrGi4dG

— Mr. Propagande (@MrPropagande) October 17, 2026

STRUGGLE TO BALANCE FISCAL, SOCIAL NEEDS

European governments have introduced housing, energy and income support, but high debt, aging populations and competing demands for defense and investment are narrowing their room for further action.

As the European Commission expects France’s deficit to reach 5.1 percent of GDP in 2026 and public debt to reach 118.1 percent, Oliver Nachtwey, a sociologist at the University of Basel, said the country’s efforts to contain public debt through spending cuts leave governments with less room to invest in schools, teachers and other public services.

Experts said the challenge is to reconcile fiscal discipline with social stability. Thomas Decreus, a scholar at the Department of Philosophy at Tilburg University, warned that weakening basic social protections could undermine social peace. “A budget must be sound, but social investments are also necessary,” he said.

Former Croatian Economy minister Ljubo Jurcic told Xinhua that price freezes can help contain immediate pressures, but governments must consider who ultimately bears the cost. In the longer run, stronger productivity and a better economic structure offer more sustainable protection for households, he said.

While subsidies and price controls can provide relatively quick relief, expanding housing supply, improving public services and raising productivity can take years, analysts said.

The challenge lies in how governments should respond to demands for immediate results while pursuing reforms that may take much longer to deliver tangible benefits, they said.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: Xinhua

Thousands of teachers, pupils, students and their parents but also civil servants including health personnel, pensioners and workers joined their voices in protesting the high cost of living, demanding better education conditions, higher salaries and lower housing costs. Τhe protests followed the 24-hour strike called by the primary and secondary teachers unions. In Athens, Thessaloniki […]

The post Students in Greece protest high cost of living; solidarity with France appeared first on Keep Talking Greece.

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Schools without heat but billions for war: Across Europe, young people have had enough. Amina Vandenheuvel, MP for the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB) and a member of its youth movement RedFox, joins Zoe Alexandra and Rania Khalek as a rebellion against austerity and war sweeps the continent, from student blockades in Belgium and France to strikes against the draft in Germany and housing encampments in Spain.

Vandenheuvel condemns the police repression of protesters, and explains why politicians keep the focus on property damage to discredit the movement – as the war on Iran and Europe’s rush to rearm for war with Russia push ordinary people to the brink. But she also argues anger alone isn’t enough: young people need political awareness, organization, and an anti-capitalist framework for building a different future – one built for the working class, not endless war and billionaire profiteering.

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