Marine Detained in Minneapolis Claims Feds Copied His Phone Without a Warrant

United States - Ekhbary News Agency

Marine Detained in Minneapolis Claims Feds Copied His Phone Without a Warrant

In a troubling incident that raises significant questions about federal law enforcement practices, Steven Saari, a U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, alleges he was detained at gunpoint, had his phone cloned, and his biometric data collected by federal agents in Minneapolis, all without a warrant. The encounter took place shortly after federal agents fatally shot Alex Pretti, with Saari present at the scene as an observer.

Saari recounted to The Intercept that initially, federal immigration agents seemed to mistake him for one of their own, possibly due to his Marine camouflage attire. "At first, federal immigration agents seemed to think he was one of them," Saari stated. "They kept asking what agency I was with." However, the agents' demeanor reportedly shifted dramatically once Saari clarified he was not affiliated with any agency. Federal immigration agents then allegedly aimed M4-style rifles at his head, with their fingers on the triggers, mere minutes away from where Pretti had been killed. "More and more Border Patrol and ICE agents gathered around me," Saari said. "Then they moved in with rifles and handguns drawn."

This encounter prompts critical inquiries into how federal agents assessed threats, employed force, and made arrest decisions in the immediate aftermath of a fatal shooting. In Saari's specific case, he and his attorney informed The Intercept that federal agents collected scans of his biometric data, including DNA samples and facial scans, and made a copy of his phone's contents, all without securing a warrant. Prior to his apprehension, Saari stated he was standing on the sidewalk observing the unfolding events, not recording, protesting, or engaging with federal agents until they approached him. When they did, Saari claims agents issued conflicting commands and attempted to handcuff him without first securing his lawfully owned firearm. He described officers briefly placing his right hand on his handgun while pulling his arms behind his back, leaving him uncertain how to comply.

Standard law enforcement firearms training protocols typically emphasize the securement of a weapon before attempting to restrain an armed individual. Saari expressed fear that agents might shoot him when his hand brushed against his gun, even though he asserted that officers, not his own movements, placed it there. Following the apprehension, Saari was taken to the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, where he was detained for at least six hours before being released without charges.

When contacted for comment, ICE referred The Intercept to Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Neither CBP nor the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provided a response to requests for comment. Inside the federal building, Saari alleged that agents shackled his hands and feet, photographed him, scanned his face, and compelled him to provide a DNA sample by depressing his tongue and swabbing the inside of his mouth. He also claimed agents denied him access to an attorney, despite the presence of legal counsel elsewhere in the building who were in contact with civilians and federal officials that day. "I asked for an attorney probably a hundred times and was never given one," Saari stated. "I was never told why I was being arrested."

Most disturbingly, Saari said, "They took my cell phone and cloned it. They actually told me they did that." He further asserted that agents did not ask him to unlock the device, nor did they present a warrant, paperwork, or any explanation authorizing the search or duplication of his phone's data. This action directly challenges established legal precedents regarding digital privacy. "Every step of this process raises red flags," commented Shauna Kieffer, vice president of the Minnesota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, who is now representing Saari. "You don’t get to detain someone without cause, deny them access to counsel, seize their phone, and then search or copy it without a warrant."

Legal experts concur with this assessment. Nathan Wessler, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, explained that while law enforcement may seize a phone during an arrest, they generally cannot access or duplicate its data without judicial authorization. He noted that exceptions for narrow emergency circumstances typically do not apply once both the individual and their phone are secured. "Once the phone is secured and the person is secured, it’s very hard to imagine what kind of emergency would justify searching or copying it without a warrant," Wessler stated. Failure to obtain a warrant, he added, raises serious concerns about violations of the Fourth Amendment, citing the landmark 2014 Supreme Court case *Riley v. California*, which established that police must obtain a specific warrant to search an arrested person’s cell phone. "The government needs a warrant to search or copy the contents of a phone, just as it would need a warrant to look through it," Wessler emphasized, adding that such a warrant "has to be particularized to the evidence the government actually has probable cause to seek."

Approximately seven hours after his arrest, Saari was released into sub-zero temperatures without transportation, leaving him disoriented and uncertain about his legal standing. He expressed concern about whether he remained under investigation and if the government would retain copies of his phone data or DNA sample. "Finding out that someone who served our country was being denied access to counsel was heartbreaking," said Kieffer, who was connected with Saari two days after his detention. "He should never have been invisible to us."

During his detention, Saari reported receiving minimal food and water, and injured detainees did not receive timely medical care. "I asked for water about a dozen times," he told The Intercept. "At one point they brought three bottles of water for seven people." He stated that detainees had to use their drinking water to clean blood off injured peers, consistent with other accounts. "There was a man with a golf-ball-sized contusion on his head who didn’t get medical attention," Saari said, adding, "There was a 70-year-old Marine Corps veteran with a deep gash on his elbow who was bleeding." Saari contrasted this treatment with his own military service, including combat operations in Iraq, where his unit treated detainees with respect, even those who had recently posed a threat. "We still treated them as humans," Saari reflected. "To be treated worse here, at home, than people who had attacked our unit in a war zone, it’s been hard to understand."

Ekhbary News Agency