A federal courtroom in Washington closed a curious chapter of protest and politics when Sean Dunn — a former Justice Department staffer — was acquitted of assaulting a federal officer after throwing a sandwich at him during a tense night in the capital.
The verdict ended a three-day trial that had less to do with deli meat and more to do with the climate of confrontation that followed Donald Trump’s decision to flood D.C. streets with federal law enforcement and National Guard troops in the name of public order.
Dunn’s act — captured in a viral video showing him shouting “fascists” before launching what witnesses later described as a “sub-style sandwich” — became a strange symbol of dissent. The agent hit by the airborne lunch, Gregory Lairmore, a 23-year veteran, told jurors the toss left his police radio “smelling of mustard” and adorned with stray onions.
“I’m just glad justice still works, even now,” Dunn said after walking free. “That night, I thought I was standing up for the rights of immigrants.”
The Justice Department, under Trump, had once aimed higher: prosecutors initially tried to bring felony charges, but a grand jury refused to indict. The case was downgraded to a misdemeanor — another in a string of failed prosecutions tied to the president’s Washington crackdown.
Government attorneys insisted the throw amounted to interference with law enforcement, while the defense portrayed it as harmless political theater. Dunn’s lawyer, Sabrina Shroff, mocked the prosecution’s sense of outrage, noting that agents later gifted Lairmore a tongue-in-cheek patch reading “Felony Footlong.”
“This wasn’t a weapon. It was a sandwich — and not even thrown hard,” she told the jury.
Federal prosecutors countered that no matter how minor, “you don’t get to hit someone with anything just because you’re angry.” But jurors didn’t bite.
The episode, absurd yet emblematic, played out against a city split over Trump’s show of federal muscle — a short-lived campaign that momentarily curbed some crimes but sparked fierce resistance on its own streets.
What began as a late-night outburst over policing ended as a lesson in proportional justice — and a reminder that sometimes, in Washington, even a sandwich can make a statement.
