ADC sues DHS Secretary Mullin over illegal CBP seizure of Max Blumenthal’s devices

“Just because someone is reentering the country does not mean their constitutional rights evaporate,” declared ADC President Jenin Younes.

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) filed a time-sensitive motion in the Eastern District of Virginia’s federal court on behalf of journalist Max Blumenthal, seeking the immediate return of two smartphones unlawfully seized and retained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The motion argues that CBP’s warrantless seizure and continued retention of Blumenthal’s phones violate the First and Fourth Amendments and the Privacy Protection Act. It seeks the immediate return of both devices and all information or copies obtained from them under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 41(g), along with an expedited hearing because the seizure is interfering with Blumenthal’s work, chilling his reporting, and threatening the confidentiality of his sources and unpublished reporting.

CBP detained Blumenthal for approximately two and a half hours after he returned on July 10 from a reporting trip to Iran for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral. Officers questioned him about his journalism, who funded his travel, whether he had been paid for interviews, and whether he planned to return to Iran. When he declined to provide the passcodes to his two phones because doing so could compromise his constitutional rights and confidential sources, an officer said the devices would be “hook[ed] up to machines” to extract their data. CBP seized the phones but left his laptop and camera untouched, despite claiming to be searching for evidence of criminal activity or child sexual material. This inconsistency suggests agents were seeking access to Blumenthal’s private contacts and protected communications, and the differential treatment he experienced compared with other American journalists on the same trip raises the specter of unlawful viewpoint discrimination.

Days before Blumenthal returned to the U.S., Trump loyalist Laura Loomer wrote a lengthy post on X, raising questions about who paid for his trip and urging the administration to arrest him. During Blumenthal’s detention, CBP officers asked questions that closely mirrored Loomer’s post. On July 14, after CBP seized his phones, Loomer celebrated the seizure and described him as a national security threat. The filing argues that the timing, Blumenthal’s differential treatment compared with other journalists on the same reporting trip, and the overlap between Loomer’s demands and CBP’s questioning raise serious concerns that he was targeted because of his reporting and political viewpoints.

“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 ADC President and Legal Director, Jenin Younes. “The constitutional concerns become more severe when it appears a journalist was subjected to an unreasonable search because of his viewpoints and journalistic activity.”

Seizing a journalist’s phones provides the government access to private sources and years of protected newsgathering. Allowing political pressure to determine whose protected electronic devices the government may search would pose a profound threat to the free press and the Constitution.

“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 his declaration.

“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.”

“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,”Blumenthal continued. “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.”

CBP itself describes searches of electronic devices as “rare” – a practice, it claims, is reserved to combat serious crimes and national security threats. Blumenthal, a U.S. citizen and award-winning journalist with a 25-year career, has never been convicted of a crime or credibly accused of posing a national security threat.

ADC asks the Court to act immediately. Border-search authority cannot be used to punish disfavored journalism or expose confidential sources, and the government must return Blumenthal’s phones and any information obtained from them.