You have a fair concern but I do want to say it is possible to get the phones secondhand. Even if someone does buy the phone just to install GrapheneOS then at least they only get a small purchase vs a lifetime of selling your data and continuing to profit off of them long-term.

You think it was for show? I am genuinely curious of someone else’s view because I’ve been skeptical myself. The fact they were even working with the Pentagon in the first place was a red flag to me.