'Don't yap to cops': why Hasan Piker's US customs story kicked off a backlash

[usonian]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/17/hasan-piker-us-customs-story-backlash

Short: STFU

He decided to entertain the agents’ questions for nearly two hours


Emphasis mine.

Ría Thompson-Washington, the president of the National Lawyers Guild and an attorney who regularly leads “know your rights” trainings for activists around the country, said that it was a common misstep for people who know their rights to fail to exercise them. “Everybody thinks that knowing your rights is about being able to argue with the police about what your rights are,” they said in an interview. “When you’re in police custody, the things that you say that you think are proving you right – the things that you say that you think are disproving whatever narrative the police have told you that they’re running with – it’s just used against you later.”

Asserting one’s right to stay silent during an encounter with government agents is intimidating, and Thompson-Washington says that they recommend people rely on a few choice phrases to guide their interactions, such as asking, “Am I being detained?” upon being approached by a police officer. If the answer is yes, they say, ask for a lawyer and then remain silent. If the answer is no, walk away and remain silent.

“When you ask that question, it lets the police officer know that you’re aware that you don’t have to say anything,” they said. “You’re signaling to the officer that you’ve at least had training.” And indeed, Piker said that he was finally allowed to leave shortly after he asked whether he was being detained – after about two hours of questioning. “I probably should have asked, ‘Am I being detained?’ from the start,” he said on the stream.

Piker went on to say that he would not have allowed CBP to search his phone or laptop, and he advised his fans on how to disable FaceID before interactions with law enforcement officials. He has also since endorsed the idea that his fans should “NOT do what he did” if they are questioned by law enforcement officers.

Reminder: grab both sides of a iphone to power it off and it will require a passcode to open, almost always protected by law. Of course there are rogue courts.

Bring a burner phone instead?

[rsdsharp]

1. Unfortunately, there are plenty of cops who actually think your rights don't apply unless you've been arrested.

No, dumbass, the rights are always there. You just don’t have to pull out and read the Miranda card until you’ve arrested the poor sap.