A Washington, D.C., jury has acquitted a former Department of Justice employee who was caught on camera throwing a sandwich at federal agents before fleeing the scene.
The verdict, reports noted, is in sharp contrast to the hundreds of January 6 defendants who were convicted and sentenced to prison — in some cases for conduct similar to or less severe than that of the sandwich thrower.
Sean Dunn, a former DOJ paralegal, was arrested in August after hurling a Subway sandwich at federal agents during a patrol in the nation’s capital. In a video of the incident, Dunn can be heard shouting “fascists” at the agents before running away. He was later taken into custody.
Following the decision, the office of D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro filed misdemeanor charges instead.
Jurors deliberated for roughly seven hours before delivering their verdict. Once it was announced, Dunn embraced his attorneys in the courtroom.
“I believe that I was protecting the rights of immigrants. And let us not forget that the Great Seal of the United States says, E Pluribus Unum,” Dunn said after the verdict was read. “That means, from many, one, every life matters, no matter where you came from, no matter how you got here, no matter how you identify, you have the right to live a life that is free.”
During the trial, Dunn’s defense argued that he threw the sandwich as an act of protest against President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in Washington, D.C., rather than as a violent assault.
Footage of the incident quickly went viral, with some residents praising Dunn as a symbol of opposition to what they viewed as an unnecessary federal occupation of the capital.
Dunn’s attorneys did not contest that he threw the sandwich at a Customs and Border Protection officer outside a nightclub but described the act as an “exclamation point” to convey his frustration over the National Guard’s presence in the city.
“It was a harmless gesture at the end of him exercising his right to speak out,” defense attorney Julia Gatto said during the trial. “He is overwhelmingly not guilty.”
Prosecutors contended that Dunn’s political motivations did not excuse him from facing charges for assaulting a federal agent. At the time of the incident, Dunn was employed by the Department of Justice as an international affairs specialist in the criminal division, Fox News reported.
Following his arrest, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced his dismissal in a social media post, describing him as “an example of the Deep State.”
Last week, federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., have arrested a third suspect in the June killing of 21-year-old congressional intern Eric Tarpinian-Jachym.
Pirro identified the suspect as 18-year-old Naqwan Lucas, who is accused of participating in the June 30 shooting that killed Tarpinian-Jachym and 22-year-old Zoey Kelley. Two other suspects, Kelvin Thomas Jr. and Jailen Lucas, were previously charged with first-degree murder.
Authorities said the shooting occurred at approximately 10:28 p.m. near the 1200 block of 7th Street Northwest, when multiple suspects exited a vehicle and opened fire. Tarpinian-Jachym, an adult female, and a 16-year-old male were struck. The congressional intern died of his injuries the following day.
Investigators said the attack was targeted, but that Tarpinian-Jachym was not the intended victim.
Pirro confirmed that all three suspects were known to the D.C. juvenile court system and criticized the city’s leadership for what she described as inadequate accountability for violent offenders.
“We live in a district where all three of these juveniles that I just mentioned are known to the juvenile court,” Pirro said. “That’s all I’m gonna say. I can’t say more, and I want to.”