A D.C. jury lacked the stomach Thursday to convict the man who hurled a hoagie at federal officers during President Trump’s law enforcement surge over the summer.
The jury acquitted Sean Dunn, 37, of his lone misdemeanor charge after bystanders captured him yelling at, then flinging his footlong Subway sandwich at Border Patrol Officer Greg Lairmore along the popular U Street nightlife corridor.
Jurors deliberated for about a day before turning in their verdict about Mr. Dunn, who was working at the Justice Department at the time of the August incident. The DOJ fired him shortly after his arrest.
“I’m relieved and I’m looking forward to moving on with my life,” Mr. Dunn said after the verdict was read.
Mr. Dunn avoided felony charges after a federal grand jury refused to indict the former paralegal.
The defendant’s legal team emphasized how much Mr. Dunn was emotionally affected by the 30-day crime emergency throughout the short trial.
They said he was particularly incensed about immigration enforcement that was part of President Trump’s crackdown.
Court documents said Mr. Dunn first approached federal agents and called them “fascists” and “racists” and chanted “shame” at them.
“Why are you here? I don’t want you in my city!” Mr. Dunn shouted, according to the video of the altercation.
An observer recorded Mr. Dunn throwing a sandwich at the agent’s chest. He tried to run away, but was quickly apprehended.
The incident turned Mr. Dunn into a cult icon in the District. Murals of a masked man preparing to throw a sandwich began popping up around the city after he was arrested.
Defense attorney Sabrina Shroff pointed to “gag gifts” Officer Lairmore received after he was hit by the sandwich to drive home how unserious the case was.
Evidence presented at trial showed that Officer Lairmore was given a sandwich plushie and a cartoon of Mr. Dunn chucking the sandwich with the caption “Felony Footlong.”
“The sandwich did not impede Officer Lairmore’s duties that night,” defense attorney Sabrina Shroff told the jury Wednesday. “A footlong from Subway could not and certainly did not inflict bodily harm.”
Prosecutors argued that the case was less about whether the sandwich harmed Officer Lairmore, but about the brazenness of physically confronting a federal agent who was doing their job.
“We’re not just talking about a sandwich,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael DiLorenzo said during the trial. “This isn’t about a sandwich.”
