The former Justice Department staffer whose thrown sandwich sparked a viral uproar was acquitted of misdemeanor assault Thursday afternoon, reinforcing growing concerns that Washington jurors are increasingly unwilling to convict or bring charges for certain offenders arrested amid President Donald Trump’s federal crime surge.
A jury on Thursday found 37-year-old Sean Charles Dunn not guilty, handing U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro another courtroom defeat as she seeks to prosecute low-level confrontations as federal crimes to reassert order in the nation’s capital. The case had already suffered a major setback when a grand jury refused to indict Dunn on felony assault, prompting prosecutors to pursue the lesser charge at trial.
Prosecutors argued Dunn assaulted a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent when he tossed a Subway sandwich at him on Aug. 10 near the U Street nightlife district. Agent Gregory Lairmore testified he felt the impact through his ballistic vest and could “smell the onions and mustard.”
Defense attorneys countered that Dunn’s conduct, as well as his angry words protesting the agents’ presence in the city, amounted to political expression that federal authorities blew wildly out of proportion.
The trial, which U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols initially predicted would take two days because it was “the simplest case in the world,” stretched to three. Jurors deliberated across two days before acquitting Dunn, a result his lawyers said shows D.C. residents “will not aid a political prosecution.”
TRIAL FOR ‘SANDWICH GUY’ PRESENTS TEST FOR JEANINE PIRRO FOLLOWING FEDERAL CASE SETBACKS
The verdict lands amid mounting grand jury refusals and acquittals in Trump’s crackdown.
At least eight grand juries have rejected felony charges for individuals arrested over more aggressive forms of protest since August, while judges have dismissed other cases after prosecutors sought to refile them in D.C.’s superior court following setbacks in federal court.
This is a developing story and will be updated.