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A former Justice Department employee who threw a sandwich at a federal agent during U.S. President Donald Trump’s law enforcement surge in Washington was found not guilty of assault on Thursday in the latest legal rebuke of the federal intervention.
A viral video of the sandwich tossing made Sean Charles Dunn a symbol of resistance to Trump’s deployment of federal agents to combat crime in the nation’s capital. His misdemeanor acquittal is another setback for prosecutors, who have faced a backlash for how they have handled criminal cases resulting from the law enforcement surge.
Prosecutors had told jurors that Dunn broke the law when he threw his submarine sandwich at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent on the night of Aug. 10.
One of Dunn’s lawyers urged the jury to acquit Dunn of a misdemeanor assault charge after a two-day trial. His lawyers argued it was a “harmless gesture” during an act of protest protected by the First Amendment.
Defence attorney Sabrina Shroff questioned why the case was brought in the first place.
“A footlong from Subway could not and certainly did not inflict any bodily harm,” Shroff said during the trial’s closing arguments. “Throwing a sandwich is not a forcible offence.”
Prosecutors from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office said Dunn knew he didn’t have a right to throw the sandwich at the agent.
“This is not a case about someone with strong opinions,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael DiLorenzo said. “It’s about an individual who crossed the line.”
Dunn hugged his lawyers after the foreperson read the verdict. Later, he said, “I’m relieved and I’m looking forward to moving on with my life.”
The National Guard has started to patrol the streets of Washington after U.S. President Donald Trump declared a crime emergency. He’s also ordered troops to clear out all homeless encampments by the end of the week.
Dunn didn’t testify at his trial. But the jury heard him explain why he confronted a group of CBP agents on the same weekend that Trump announced his deployment of hundreds of National Guard troops and federal agents to assist with police patrols in Washington, D.C.
After his arrest, a law-enforcement officer’s body camera captured him saying: “I did it. I threw a sandwich. I did it to draw them away from where they were. I succeeded.”
A grand jury refused to indict Dunn on a felony assault count, part of a pattern of pushback against the Justice Department’s prosecution of surge-related criminal cases.
After the rare rebuke from the grand jury, Pirro’s office charged Dunn instead with a misdemeanor.
When Dunn approached a group of CBP agents who were in front of a club hosting a “Latin Night,” he called them “fascists” and “racists” and chanted “shame” toward them. An observer’s video captured Dunn throwing a sandwich at an agent’s chest.
“Why are you here? I don’t want you in my city!” Dunn shouted, according to police.
Dunn ran away but was apprehended. DiLorenzo said the agents confronted by Dunn showed “the utmost restraint.”
“He spent seven minutes trying to get them off that corner,” the prosecutor said.
CBP Agent Gregory Lairmore testified that the sandwich “exploded” when it struck his chest hard enough that he could feel it through his ballistic vest.
“You could smell the onions and the mustard,” he recalled.
Lairmore’s colleagues jokingly gave him gifts making light of the incident, including a sandwich-shaped plush toy and a patch that said “felony footlong.” Lairmore acknowledged that he kept the gifts, placing the patch on his lunchbox.
“If someone assaulted you, someone offended you, would you keep mementos of that assault?” Shroff asked jurors. “Of course not.”
After allowing National Guard troops in Washington to carry weapons, U.S. President Donald Trump discussed plans to expand the use of the military in cities across the country.
Dunn was released from custody but rearrested when a team of armed federal agents in riot gear raided his home. The White House posted a highly produced “propaganda” video of the raid on its official X account, Dunn’s lawyers said.
Dunn worked as an international affairs specialist in the U.S. Justice Department’s criminal division. After Dunn’s arrest, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced his firing in a social media post that referred to him as “an example of the Deep State.”
His lawyers urged the judge to dismiss the case for what they allege is a vindictive and selective prosecution. They argued that the posts by Bondi and the White House show Dunn was impermissibly targeted for his political speech.
Dunn is charged with assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating and interfering with a federal officer. Dozens of Trump supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, were convicted of felonies for assaulting or interfering with police. Trump pardoned or ordered the dismissal of charges for all of them.
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