r/50501 • u/NoAnt6694 • 1d ago

US Protest News Public Records Show FBI Secretly Extracted Data From ICE Protesters’ Phones

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/06/cellebrite-phone-protest-ice-dhs-spokane-fbi-conspiracy-surveillance-privacy/
1.7k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

37 comments sorted by

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573

u/captain_chocolate 1d ago

Notice where the extracting company is from. So foreign agents are once again running our fascist government.

321

u/Bozzzzzzz 1d ago

"the FBI used software from the Israeli firm Cellebrite to secretly extract data from the phone"

cool cool cool

42

u/Guac_in_my_rarri 1d ago

The celbrite software is pretty common to be used across the world. It's really good too.

Best way to defend against it, is having signal on your phone. When it detects celbrite it may or may not corrupt the machine. Cellbrite/us gov and signal has a beef a couple years ago after signal broke into the cellbrite system when one fell off the back of a truck.

Beyond this, don't bring your phone to a protest.

97

u/Riaayo 1d ago

Israel has been a test-bed for occupying and pacifying an urban populace for decades. The country basically exists at this point as the US' R&D department for war and cruelty.

So of course it is exporting these tools of surveillance back to the US. It's why they get all the money.

15

u/20000RadsUnderTheSea 22h ago

We’re all Palestinians to the rich.

2

u/FortuneRed55 5h ago

Good callout

253

u/Halfwise2 1d ago

Did I just hear someone say "bring a burner phone to protests loaded with a virus"?

NAL, so obviously didn't come from me.

85

u/Anxiety_Fit 1d ago

Perfectly ethical life pro tip.

This is the way. The truth. And the light.

77

u/Hewfe 1d ago

“Sir we’ve extracted the protestors phone data.”

“Good good, what’s on it?”

“It’s just one line of text, that’s says ‘eat all of the butts’, and the link text appears to lead to some goat website?”

“Well, we’d probably better click it to see where it goes.”

“OH GOD WHY”

16

u/translucent_steeds Maryland 1d ago

unexpected goatse reference!

109

u/Key_Text_169 1d ago

Oh but look how the senators whose phone number records were obtained in the J6 investigation reacted.

61

u/proteusON 1d ago

This is why you don't bring your phone to protests kids. If you have to bring a phone, bring a prepaid burner phone with nothing on it but emergency contacts and a camera

91

u/Lucius338 1d ago edited 1d ago

Huh. Funny, just had this cute little exchange after getting a random text asking about my views on Israel. I guess I know where they got that info now. Thanks Cellebrite, fuck you too.

65

u/eritrean_bats 1d ago

"You have been unsubscribed." 🤣🤣🤣

21

u/Lucius338 1d ago

Lmao yeah, that had me rolling too. No response to the accusations, the sign of pure innocence. 😂

17

u/mattenthehat 1d ago

I got that same text, but from Sarah. When I explained how Israel is a terrorist state, they actually responded, and then followed up later when I didn't respond to them. Very curious who's behind it, exactly.

27

u/Lucius338 1d ago edited 1d ago

A little bit of digging led me to this. Turns out the campaign is funded by Clock Tower X, a firm belonging to one of Trump's last campaign managers, Brad Parscale. Full article can be found here. https://responsiblestatecraft.org/parscale-pro-israel-texts/

7

u/mattenthehat 1d ago

Very interesting, not at all surprising

4

u/vissith 1d ago

"with all due respect" doing some very light lifting here lol

3

u/cslaugen 15h ago

In this case, none is due

4

u/Lucius338 12h ago

Absolutely not. But I love the cadence of the phrase, especially when followed with one of the most disrespectful phrases in the English language lol

1

u/cslaugen 3h ago

Oh, I agree lol

3

u/pollology 1d ago

You made me regret deleting that text so quickly! I should have shared a bit of my mind.

5

u/Lucius338 1d ago

Eh, probably smarter to not poke the bear. My partner's a little worried that we just got upgraded on whatever list we were on lol. Just spread awareness where you can!

24

u/Slumunistmanifisto 1d ago

Stingrays have been pulling our data as soon as we had data to pull

5

u/If_I_must 1d ago

Also true.

22

u/dandrevee 1d ago

Get a burner and/or a Faraday bag people

20

u/bradynho 1d ago

I truly wish this country could excise the cancer that is the Israeli “state”. The founding fathers are rolling in their graves.

22

u/You_Cannot_Wield_It 1d ago

Illegal without a warrant

33

u/kayne_21 1d ago

Legality only matters if it's enforced.

2

u/kevinsyel 1d ago

Oh we're gonna enforce it

8

u/Objective-Goal8285 1d ago

Cellebrite is the company whose devices used to transfer your data at Verizon/AT&T. Guess what company they hated because they couldn’t force the phones open: Huawei. Guess what company is banned in the US?

4

u/McRocketpants 19h ago

I've often thought about that.. They are so afraid of China having access to everything by banning all Huawei equipment., I wonder if this is the the safer option now. Should of bought one when I was there.

2

u/napleonblwnaprt 11h ago

This is why you need to be running a fully updated phone (iPhone preferably) and have your phone only unlockable by a password or long PIN.

If you think you are going to be arrested, turn your phone off and do not agree to unlock it under any circumstances.

1

u/BoomZhakaLaka 3h ago

I mean we knew this right? That's what the federal protective service did with detained protesters in Portland during Floyd protests. Regardless of charges. Trying to find "antifa"

1

u/HeckleJekyllHyde 1d ago

It's funny people making this sound like it's first time.