FBI Recovers Deleted Signal Messages in ICE Vandalism Trial

Federal investigators recovered deleted messages from the encrypted Signal app on an iPhone during a trial connected to a July incident at the Prairieland ICE Detention Facility in Alvarado, Texas, revealing how device notification systems can retain communication data even after an app is removed.

The case stemmed from an event on July 13, 2024, when a group vandalized property and set off fireworks at the facility, resulting in a police officer being shot in the neck. Nine individuals were arrested and later charged with offenses including domestic terrorism and attempted murder. All defendants were convicted in mid-March 2025 following a federal trial in Texas, where evidence included fragments of Signal messages extracted from one defendant's phone.

FBI Special Agent Clark Wiethorn testified that the agency accessed the messages from the iPhone's internal notification database, despite the Signal app having been deleted and the messages set to disappear within the app. The extraction focused solely on incoming messages, as outgoing ones do not generate similar notifications. Investigators used forensic tools after obtaining physical access to the device, pulling data that...