Throwing a sandwich at a federal agent turned Sean Charles Dunn into a symbol of resistance against President Donald Trump’s law-enforcement surge in the nation’s capital.
This week, federal prosecutors are trying to persuade a jury of fellow Washington, DC, residents that Dunn simply broke the law.
That could be a tough sell for the government in a city that has chafed against Trump’s federal takeover, which is entering its third month. A grand jury refused to indict Dunn on a felony assault count before US Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office opted to charge him instead with a misdemeanour.
Securing a trial conviction could prove to be equally challenging for Justice Department prosecutors in Washington, where murals glorifying Dunn's sandwich toss popped up virtually overnight.
Before jury selection started Tuesday, the judge presiding over Dunn's trial seemed to acknowledge how unusual it is for a case like this to be heard in federal court. US District Judge Carl Nichols, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, said he expects the trial to last no more than two days “because it’s the simplest case in the world”.
A video that went viral on social media captured Dunn hurling his subway-style sandwich at a Customs and Border Protection agent outside a nightclub on the night of August 10. That same weekend, Trump announced his deployment of hundreds of National Guard troops and federal agents to assist with police patrols in Washington.
When Dunn approached a group of CBP agents who were in front of a club hosting a “Latin Night”, he called them “fascists” and “racists” and chanted “shame” toward them. An observer’s video captured Dunn throwing a sandwich at an agent’s chest.
“Why are you here? I don’t want you in my city!” Dunn shouted, according to police.
Dunn ran away but was apprehended. He was released from custody but rearrested when a team of armed federal agents in riot gear raided his home. The White House posted a highly produced “propaganda” video of the raid on its official X account, Dunn’s lawyers said. They noted that Dunn had offered to surrender to police before the raid.
Dunn worked as an international affairs specialist in the Justice Department’s criminal division. After Dunn’s arrest, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced his firing in a social media post that referred to him as “an example of the Deep State”.
Before trial, Dunn's lawyers urged the judge to dismiss the case for what they allege is a vindictive and selective prosecution. They argued that the posts by Bondi and the White House prove Dunn was impermissibly targeted for his political speech.
Julia Gatto, one of Dunn’s lawyers, questioned why Trump’s Justice Department is prosecuting Dunn after the Republican president issued pardons and ordered the dismissal of assault cases stemming from a mob’s attack on the US Capitol on Janruary 6, 2021.
“It’s an obvious answer,” Gatto said during a hearing last Friday. “The answer is they have different politics. And that’s selective prosecution.”
Prosecutors countered that Dunn’s political expressions don’t make him immune from prosecution for assaulting the agent.
“The defendant is being prosecuted for the obvious reason that he was recorded throwing a sandwich at a federal officer at point-blank range,” they wrote.
Dunn is charged with assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating and interfering with a federal officer. Dozens of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol were convicted of felonies for assaulting or interfering with police during the January 6 attack. Trump pardoned or ordered the dismissal of charges for all of them.
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