Some guy is currently facing federal charges for exactly that:
Samuel Tunick is facing a federal felony after data on his Google Pixel was erased while Customs and Border Protection officers were trying to search the device at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. His attorneys are challenging the legality of the search, putting the government’s border search powers at the center of the criminal case.
The encounter occurred on January 24, 2025, after Tunick returned to the United States from the Dominican Republic and was sent to secondary inspection. Federal officers sought access to his phone, and court records state that Tunick eventually provided a passcode. When an officer entered it, the screen went blank, flashed several times and appeared to restart. Prosecutors allege the phone’s contents had been deleted.
A federal grand jury indicted Tunick in November 2025 under 18 U.S.C. § 2232(a). The law makes it a crime to knowingly destroy, damage or take other action against property for the purpose of preventing or interfering with the government’s lawful authority to take it into custody. A conviction can carry up to five years in prison.
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71998357/united-states-v-tunick/