The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee filed the emergency motion in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on Blumenthal's behalf. The filing seeks the return of both phones and any information copied from them.
Blumenthal was detained for about two and a half hours after returning to the United States on July 10 from a reporting trip to Iran for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's funeral, according to the motion.
The filing says CBP officers questioned him about his journalism and his trip. When Blumenthal refused to provide passcodes to his phones, saying it could expose confidential sources, an officer said the devices would be "hook[ed] up to machines" to extract their data.
The motion argues the seizure violated the First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, and the Privacy Protection Act.
"Just because someone is reentering the country does not mean their constitutional rights evaporate," ADC President and Legal Director Jenin Younes said. "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 said, "I believe that DHS and CBP targeted me due to my journalism."
The court has not yet ruled on the motion.
Click here to follow Daily Voice and receive free news updates.
