WASHINGTON—Sean Dunn was acquitted of misdemeanor assault charges on Nov. 6, after he threw a Subway sandwich at a Customs and Border Patrol officer this summer.
The Aug. 10 incident occurred during President Donald Trump’s law enforcement surge in the District of Columbia after he federalized the city’s police force. The agent struck by the sandwich was part of a cohort of 10 officers from the FBI, Metropolitan Police, and CBP, who were in the city to deter crime.
His defense team never disputed the sandwich toss, but disputed that it rose to the level of an “assault.”
Dunn’s defense team never denied the sandwich toss, but disputed that it rose to the level of an “assault.”
“He did it. He threw the sandwich,” Dunn’s attorney Julia Gatto said in her opening statement.
But she said that this wasn’t an act of violence, just Dunn emphatically expressing his anger at the enhanced police presence in the city.
“It was a harmless gesture at the end of the exercising of his right to speak out,” she told the jurors. The jury agreed.
“I’m relieved and I’m looking forward to moving on with my life,” Dunn said following his acquittal.
Dunn’s attorneys initially asked the court to dismiss the case as an example of “selective and vindictive” prosecution.
They noted that Dunn had volunteered to turn himself in on Aug. 14 to face a grand jury, but instead, authorities raided his home.
The crime carried a maximum penalty of one year in prison, a fine of up to $100,000, and 5 years of probation.
CPB Agent Gregory Larimore testified that Dunn emerged from a Subway sandwich shop around 11 p.m. on Aug. 10, and began to scream at a team of law enforcement officers near 14th and U St. in the District of Columbia.
Dunn singled out Larimore, red-faced and screaming obscenities. He departed briefly but returned, threw the sandwich at Larimore’s chest, and fled.
Larimore testified that the sandwich “exploded” on impact, soiling his uniform.
“I could smell the onions and the mustard,” he told the jury.
Officers pursued Dunn and arrested him.
Prosecutors showed the jury police bodycam footage of Dunn, handcuffed and explaining that his intent was to disrupt the officers’ work because they were in the city as part of President Donald Trump’s crime crackdown.
“I was trying to draw them away from where they were. I succeeded,” he said.
Dunn was subsequently fired from his position at the Department of Justice and faced a felony assault charge.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said on X, when announcing Dunn’s dismissal: “This is an example of the Deep State we have been up against for seven months as we work to refocus DOJ."
“You will NOT work in this administration while disrespecting our government and law enforcement.”
After a grand jury refused to indict him, the government pursued the misdemeanor charge instead.
AP contributed to this article.
