WASHINGTON — A man captured on camera hurling a sandwich at a federal agent in D.C. was charged with a misdemeanor offense after prosecutors failed to convince a grand jury to return a more serious felony indictment, according to court papers.
The move this past week is a blow to the Trump administration, which highlighted the felony assault case against Sean Charles Dunn to show it would aggressively prosecute violence against law enforcement — even after Trump pardoned Jan. 6 rioters who brutally attacked officers with poles and other makeshift weapons. It's rare for a grand jury not to return an indictment.
Posters of a person throwing a sandwich are pictured Aug. 17 along H Street in Washington.
The White House spotlighted Dunn's case with a dramatic social media video of his arrest by federal agents. Washington's top federal prosecutor, Jeanine Pirro, also touted the felony charge in another social media video, saying into the camera: "So there, stick your Subway sandwich somewhere else."
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Dunn is now charged with simple assault, which carries up to one year behind bars. Misdemeanor charges don't require prosecutors to go to a grand jury. The felony assault charge called for up to eight years behind bars.
An activist holds up a baguette Aug. 16 in support of a fired former Justice Department employee who hurled a sandwich at a federal law-enforcement official during a protest of President Donald Trump's federal takeover of policing of the District of Columbia near the White House in Washington.
A video of Dunn throwing the sandwich at the chest of the agent who was patrolling the nation's capital went viral in the first days after Trump's Aug. 11 order for federal agents and troops to flood Washington. Authorities say he also pointed a finger in an agent's face and swore at him, calling him a "fascist."
Dunn tried to run away but was apprehended, police said. He was initially released and later arrested by federal agents on the felony assault charge. It was later revealed that he worked as an international affairs specialist in the Justice Department's criminal division, though Attorney General Pam Bondi swiftly fired him.
In another recent case, prosecutors in Washington acknowledged that three grand juries voted separately against indicting a woman accused of assaulting an FBI agent outside the city's jail in July, where she was recording video of the transfer of inmates into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Rebuffed by the grand juries, Pirro's office is pursuing a misdemeanor assault charge against Sydney Lori Reid instead.
