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Re:US citizen charged after GrapheneOS phone wipes during ai... by kube-system on Monday July 27, 2026 @04:12AM (#49066543)
Yes, absolutely. Something can be evidence if the police haven’t even seen it at all.

For example: the police think you are running a fraud scheme. They knock on your door. You shred a bunch of paper. The police wanted to see the paper. You have violated the US law on tampering with evidence.

Re:US citizen charged after GrapheneOS phone wipes during ai... by bubblethink on Monday July 27, 2026 @05:04AM (#49066913)
The prosecutor can argue that you violated some laws, but they will have to convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt of that. And they will need a lot more than "I heard the shredder" to convict you. In an overall case, the shredding can be a piece of the puzzle. Shredding, standing alone, is not a crime, nor is shredding as a general matter tampering with evidence.
Re:US citizen charged after GrapheneOS phone wipes during ai... by kube-system on Monday July 27, 2026 @10:58AM (#49070640)
Yes, if someone wants to bring charges for evidence tampering, they will be required to collect additional evidence to successfully prosecute that crime. That's how it always works. They might collect fragments of the documents themselves, communications regarding the shredding, etc.