WASHINGTON, D.C. — A man accused of throwing a Subway sandwich at a federal officer during the early Trump-era law enforcement surge has been found not guilty of assault after a two-day trial.
The man, Sean Dunn, was captured on video shouting at officers before tossing a wrapped sandwich at a Customs and Border Protection agent. Dunn told officers afterward he was trying to distract them from what he believed was an impending immigration raid at a Latin LGBTQ nightclub.
The incident quickly went viral, becoming a tongue-in-cheek symbol of D.C.’s resistance to Trump’s federal law enforcement crackdown. Posters and memes celebrating the “sandwich throw” spread across the city. The case also came to symbolize how federal enforcement agencies under Trump took a hard line against even minor acts of protest.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro stated after the verdict that, “As always, we accept a jury’s verdict; that is the system within which we function. However, law enforcement should never be subjected to assault, no matter how minor,” adding, “Even children know when they are angry, they are not allowed to throw objects at one another.”
Defense attorney Sabrina Shroff countered that the wrapped sandwich caused no harm and did not meet the legal threshold for assault. She noted that the officer involved received gag gifts from coworkers afterward, including a toy sandwich labeled “felony footlong.”
Jurors deliberated for about seven hours before returning a not-guilty verdict, with one juror later remarking that she didn’t believe the officer felt truly threatened.
Outside the courthouse, Dunn expressed gratitude and relief. “That night I believed I was protecting the rights of immigrants. Every life matters, no matter where you came from or how you got here,” he said. Dunn, who was employed by the Justice Department, was publicly fired by the attorney general after the incident.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined immediate comment on the acquittal. The case raised broader questions about the use of federal courts for minor altercations and underscored how aggressively the U.S. Attorney for D.C. was willing to prosecute symbolic acts of dissent.
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