Washington — A person who was charged with throwing a sandwich at a federal agent was discovered not responsible of 1 rely of misdemeanor assault after a jury trial in Washington, D.C.
The acquittal of the person, Sean Dunn, comes after federal prosecutors did not safe a felony indictment towards him from a grand jury in Washington within the rapid aftermath of the incident. He as an alternative confronted a federal misdemeanor assault cost for allegedly assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating and interfering with a federal officer.
In keeping with charging paperwork, Dunn threw a “submarine-style sandwich” at a Customs and Border Patrol officer stationed at a busy intersection in Northwest Washington in August. The incident was extensively publicized and rapidly turned a logo of resistance towards President Trump’s federal policing crackdown and Nationwide Guard deployment within the nation’s capital, which is now in its third month.
In video of the incident that was cited within the fees and performed in courtroom, Dunn will be seen yelling on the agent and different officers in his neighborhood earlier than throwing the wrapped sandwich on the officer’s chest. Dunn tried to flee on foot earlier than being apprehended, paperwork and video of the incident reveals.
In keeping with the affidavit, Dunn yelled, “F*** you! You f***ing fascists! Why are you here? I don’t want you in my city,” earlier than crossing the road. He later returned and threw the sandwich.
Pictures from a courtroom submitting present Sean Dunn throwing a sandwich at a federal agent on Aug. 10, 2025.
Justice Division
“He did it, he threw the sandwich,” Dunn’s legal professional Julia Gatto stated in her opening assertion to a D.C. jury, including their consumer has “very strong feelings” concerning the Trump administration’s inflow of federal regulation enforcement into D.C.
Gatto referred to as the viral incident a “harmless gesture that did not, could not, cause injury.”
Customs and Border Patrol Agent Gregory Lairmore, who was hit with the footlong sub, testified Tuesday, saying that he caught most of Dunn’s anger and a focus earlier than being hit in his ballistic vest with the Subway sandwich.
To laughs from the crowded courtroom, Lairmore stated he “could feel it through his ballistic vest” and it “exploded all over” him. He stated he “could smell the onions and mustard” on his uniform, and even had an onion string hanging by his police radio later that night time. The fast-food mustard, he stated, stained his shirt.
Dunn didn’t testify in his personal protection, and his authorized staff didn’t current a counter to the Justice Division’s arguments within the case. As an alternative they moved to dismiss the case, however that was denied by U.S. District Choose Carl Nichols, who oversaw the trial.
Throughout closing arguments in entrance of a totally packed courtroom, prosecutors stated that “this case is not about someone with strong opinions … it’s about an individual who crossed the line.” They stated Dunn had the precise to precise his anger on the federal brokers, however he didn’t have the precise to strike them, “even with a sandwich.”
“Here we have the defendant, throwing a sandwich, but he’s throwing it hard,” the prosecutor stated. “That meets the definition of force.”
Dunn’s legal professional, Sabrina Schroff, then argued to the jury that “the sandwich that was thrown in this case was not forcible,” and equated her consumer’s actions to that of a kid’s bedtime mood tantrum.
Schroff stated that when a toddler “takes that stuffed animal with which he sleeps … and throws it at you … Are you offended? Are you scared you might suffer bodily injury? No.”
She additionally stated Lairmore couldn’t have been assaulted as a result of the sandwich throw didn’t place the officer in “reasonable fear of immediate bodily harm.”
“Think about where the sandwich landed,” Schroff stated, arguing that Lairmore’s bulletproof vest that Dunn threw the sub at was “definitely going to keep you safe from a sandwich,” if it protects towards gunfire.
“A footlong from Subway could not and certainly did not inflict bodily harm,” Schroff stated.
“This isn’t just a sandwich, this is a seven minute tirade,” prosecutors argued of their rebuttal.
After his arrest, Dunn was fired from his job as a paralegal within the Justice Division. In keeping with a Justice Division supply, Dunn labored on the Workplace of Worldwide Affairs throughout the division’s Prison Division as a paralegal.
