(Image via The New York Times)
Social Media Manager: Samantha McCarthy
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A man who threw a sandwich at a federal agent in an act of protest has been found not guilty of federal assault. After hours of deliberation, 37 year-old Sean Dunn was found not guilty of one misdemeanor assault charge by the jury at a federal court in Washington D.C.
The incident occurred in August at an intersection in Northwest Washington. Dunn threw a “submarine-style sandwich” at a Customs and Border Patrol Officer, and, according to the affidavit, yelled, “F*** you! You f***ing fascists! Why are you here? I don’t want you in my city.” Dunn proceeded to walk away, return, and throw the sandwich.
The incident gained traction on social media and sparked conversation about the Trump Administration’s federal police and National Guard Deployment.
After throwing the sandwich, Dunn attempted to flee on foot before being apprehended by the police.
Following his arrest, Dunn was fired from his job as a paralegal within the Criminal division at the Office of International Affairs.
Dunn’s defense team argued that “the sandwich that was thrown in this case was not forcible,” comparing it to a child throwing a stuffed animal at someone. Dunn’s defense attorney Sabrina Schroff later added that Border Patrol Officer Greg Lairmore, who was hit with the sandwich, could not have been assaulted because he was not placed in “reasonable fear of immediate bodily harm.”
Ultimately arguing that the act was a form of protest and a harmless gesture, she additionally noted that Lairmore was wearing a bulletproof vest which added additional protection.
Lairmore told the courtroom he “could feel it through his ballistic vest” and it “exploded all over” him, as well as claiming he could “smell the onions and mustard.” He later added that he noticed an onion string hanging from his police radio later that night, and the mustard stained his uniform.
Dunn did not testify against this claim and his legal team did not present a counterargument. They instead moved to dismiss the case, but were later denied by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols.
The case later closed, and Dunn was found not guilty of the charge against him. This case has been described as a setback for prosecutors in the area who have been receiving backlash for aggressive charging tactics throughout the surge of the deployment of federal agents.
Dunn expressed his gratitude to his legal team, saying, “I am so happy that justice prevails in spite of everything happening. And that night, I believe I was protecting the rights of immigrants. And let us not forget that the great seal of the United States says ‘E pluribus unum.’ That means ‘from many, one.’ Every life matters, no matter where you came from, no matter how you got here.”
Shortly after the incident went viral online, a mural of Dunn throwing the sub was painted on the side of a building on a nearby street.
He later explained that it was “heartening” to see the amount of support from the community, but he is “not comfortable with the hero narrative,” as he told NBC News. He was later asked if his being found not guilty was a way of dissenting to the federal takeover, to which he replied, “perhaps.”
“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.’ Even children know when they are angry, they are not allowed to throw objects at one another,” said Jeanine Pirro, who co-runs the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, in a written statement.
“This case, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, is about a sandwich,” Schroff said in her closing statement.