The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee filed an emergency motion in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia seeking the immediate return of two smartphones seized from journalist Max Blumenthal by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers.
The legal action follows Blumenthal’s July 10 return to the United States from a reporting trip to Iran, where he covered the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. According to court documents, CBP officers detained Blumenthal for approximately two and a half hours at the border, questioning him about his funding, journalistic activities, and future travel plans.
The motion, filed under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 41(g), argues that the warrantless seizure and ongoing retention of the devices violate the First and Fourth Amendments, as well as the Privacy Protection Act. The filing requests an expedited hearing, stating the seizure directly interferes with Blumenthal’s work and risks compromising confidential sources.
During the detention, Blumenthal declined to provide passcodes for his phones. According to the filing, a CBP officer stated the devices would be connected to machines to extract their data. The motion notes that while the smartphones were confiscated, Blumenthal’s laptop and camera were left untouched by officers.
The legal filing also highlights communications by political activist Laura Loomer, who posted on the social media platform X prior to Blumenthal’s return, questioning his travel funding and calling for his arrest. The motion states that CBP officers asked questions mirroring Loomer’s posts, and notes that Loomer later publicly celebrated the seizure on July 14. The ADC argues these factors indicate Blumenthal experienced differential treatment compared to other American journalists on the same trip.
“Just because someone is reentering the country does not mean their constitutional rights evaporate. While Fourth Amendment protections are diminished at border crossings, searches must be based on some interest in identifying criminal activity or national security threat,” said Jenin Younes, ADC President and Legal Director, in a statement. “The constitutional concerns become more severe when it appears a journalist was subjected to an unreasonable search because of his viewpoints and journalistic activity.”
Blumenthal, a U.S. citizen with a 25-year career in journalism, stated in his court declaration that he has no criminal record and poses no national security threat. CBP guidelines characterize electronic device searches at the border as rare measures reserved for serious crimes and national security investigations.
“I believe that DHS and CBP targeted me due to my journalism, specifically my critical coverage of U.S. foreign policy and long record of exposing Israeli atrocities,” Blumenthal stated in the filing. “The timing and content of those [Laura Loomer’s] public statements reinforce my belief that I was singled out because of my protected reporting and viewpoints.”
Blumenthal added: “I am concerned that CBP seized my phone devices to extract information on my sources, communications with sources, and journalist methods for conducting fieldwork and reporting. Disclosure of that information could endanger sources, compromise ongoing investigations, and impair my ability to assure current and prospective sources that their identities and communications will remain confidential.”
The motion requests that the federal court order CBP to immediately return both smartphones and destroy all copies of any data extracted from the devices. The government has not yet filed a formal response in court.
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