A former Department of Justice employee who threw a sandwich at a federal agent during Donald Trump’s law enforcement surge in Washington DC was found not guilty of assault by a DC jury on Thursday in the latest legal rebuke of the federal intervention.
Dunn’s lawyers argued his sandwich throw was a “harmless gesture” meant as an act of protest.
In a city under federal siege, the incident served as a rallying point, with posters showing Dunn mid-throw popping up around the district.
Prosecutors said Dunn knew he didn’t have a right to throw the sandwich at the agent, and that his speech was not the issue, but that he threw a sandwich at a federal officer “at point-blank range”.
But federal agents, armed and in riot gear, rearrested him at his home despite him offering to turn himself in to police.
The jury acquittal was another example of DC residents pushing back on federal troops in their city.
The defense pushed back, as it appeared in imagery from the scene that the sandwich did not leave its wrapper. »