A jury on Thursday found Sean Charles Dunn not guilty after about seven hours of deliberation in the case arising from an incident in Washington, D.C., in which he threw a Subway hoagie at a federal agent. The verdict followed a widely seen bystander video that captured Dunn confronting federal officers, calling them racists and fascists and saying he feared they were about to conduct an immigration raid at a gay nightclub during Latin Night.
Dunn threw the sandwich at Gregory Lairmore, an agent with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, who was wearing a bulletproof vest. Lairmore testified that the sandwich “exploded” on impact and that he smelled onions and mustard, but he was not injured. Dunn was later detained by police and lost his job at the Justice Department.
Prosecutors initially sought a felony assault charge, but a grand jury declined to indict on that count. The case was then brought as a misdemeanor charge for assaulting or impeding a federal officer. Prosecutors argued that throwing objects at law enforcement is unacceptable and merited prosecution. Defense attorneys said Dunn was being targeted for his criticism of the Trump administration’s deployment of federal agents to the city and emphasized that the act caused no physical harm, framing it as a symbolic, if provocative, gesture.
At trial, defense attorneys also highlighted the oddity of the situation: Lairmore acknowledged receiving gag gifts from colleagues, including a plush sandwich and a patch reading “Felony Footlong.”
After the verdict, Dunn said he was relieved and looked forward to moving on with his life. The case became a focal point for broader tensions in the capital over the surge of federal law enforcement and how residents and critics respond to it.