Former DHS officials accused of deliberately wiping Signal messages amid lawsuit

In a recent filing, Judge Susan Illston ruled that former DHS officials Karen Evans and Joseph Guy intentionally destroyed potentially relevant Signal communications despite a standing court order to retain evidence. Evans, who previously oversaw DHS records policies, configured her FEMA Signal group to auto-delete after four weeks and only created a backup on April 25, 2026, well after the relevant messages had vanished.

Guy, responsible for over two dozen FEMA-related Signal chats, uninstalled and reinstalled the app, wiping its contents, and filed his preservation declaration a day late, claiming another party was handling the records. The court held that these actions give plaintiffs a presumption that the lost information was unfavorable to the defendants. Although the judge described the conduct as exceeding gross negligence, she declined to impose sanctions. Senior DHS advisor Kara Voorhies supplied evidence confirming the deleted chats between Evans and Guy.