Journalist Max Blumenthal was detained at Dulles airport and had his phones seized after reporting from inside Iran, and is now suing the government — a bad sign for press freedom and for anyone who thinks constitutional rights apply at the border.

• Customs agents pulled Blumenthal aside on his return from Tehran, searched his bags, and took his phones without a warrant after he refused to hand over his passcodes.
• The detention followed an online campaign led by Laura Loomer and the Israel-based group Canary Mission demanding he be arrested and his passport pulled.
• A federal judge in Virginia has already said his Fourth Amendment rights were violated, and his phones were returned within a day of the lawsuit being filed.
• Three House Republicans have since sent a letter calling for the FBI and State Department to investigate him, citing only his journalism.
• The bigger claim: the Trump administration takes its orders from Netanyahu, and the Iran war has been a disaster for Trump politically and for the US economy, with oil prices high and the deficit ballooning.

Outlook: The lawsuit is expanding into a First and Fourth Amendment case that could set limits on warrantless phone searches at the border, while pressure on critics of Israel is expected to keep rising.