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.
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.
WASHINGTON A former Justice Department employee who threw a sandwich at a federal agent during 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 their aggressive charging tactics during the law enforcement surge. The Justice Department had initially sought a felony assault indictment against Dunn, but in a highly unusual move, the grand jury declined to sign off on the felony charge. The office of U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro then charged Dunn with a misdemeanor.
There was no dispute over whether Dunn threw the sandwich at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent on the night of Aug. 10. But his lawyers argued it was a “harmless gesture” during an act of protest protected by the First Amendment.
Prosecutors said Dunn, 37, knew he did not have a right to throw the sandwich at the agent. Dunn shouted “fascists” and “racists” and chanted “shame” toward the group of agents who were in front of a club hosting a “Latin Night.
