But I think the article goes on clarifies that it was only event staff:

"Workers at the Route 91 festival during which Stephen Paddock unleashed his massacre have reportedly been given back their phones and..."

"Eyewitnesses", yes... but not every eyewitness. Most of the fans bolted the scene completely. Any lingering staff, or staff that reported back in later are the only ones they would have had the opportunity to round up and get their devices.

I think it's bullshit. It's straight up fake news. It started somewhere, now the same exact article is on every other "news" site.

What would they think the staff would have recorded that the spectators hadn't already captured? The fans were the ones with their phones out, recording... The staff would have been working, and then dealing with a sudden stampede of people.

Besides... The Cloud! They forgot about the Cloud! And Facebook Live and YouTube Streaming! Blanking phones and tablets is pointless.

This is fake news meant to foment distrust of the police and FBI. It also attempts to normalize people willingly giving up their 4th Amendment Right. "Yeah... We get to confiscate any of your electronic devices, just because you were there!"

Fake news...