WASHINGTON — A jury was selected Monday in the trial of former Justice Department employee Sean Dunn, also known as the “sandwich guy,” months after he went viral for throwing a salami sub at a Customs and Border Protection agent in Washington, D.C., at close range.
Prosecutors hit Dunn with a misdemeanor assault charge in August. That came a day after U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office failed to persuade a grand jury to indict Dunn on felony charges — a sub-optimal result for prosecutors.
Dunn pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge in September. The case is proceeding after a judge rejected the government’s motion to delay the trial because of a disagreement over jury instructions.
Jury selection was completed Monday in open court, but U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols used technology, including a white noise machine, to block members of the public and the media from hearing the questions posed to potential jurors and their responses.
Dunn's attorneys argued that the judge's use of the device was a violation of their client's right to have a public trial, and that jury selection should start over. Nichols denied the motion, calling it "drastic."
Opening statements are scheduled to begin Tuesday morning.
Dunn’s lawyers have claimed the case is “selective and vindictive prosecution,” arguing he was singled out for prosecution “not because of the nature of his alleged conduct — throwing a soft object that caused no injury — but because his outspoken, viral critique of the current administration’s policing and immigration policies made him a political target.”
Federal prosecutors opposed Dunn’s lawyers’ motion to dismiss the charge, writing that Dunn was “recorded throwing a sandwich at a federal officer at point-blank range.”
A video of Dunn throwing the meat sandwich at federal officers quickly ricocheted around the internet as Washingtonians pushed back against President Donald Trump’s move to deploy federal officers and National Guard troops in the nation’s capital.
Since then, “sandwich guy” has become a bread-and-butter part of D.C.’s resistance to the president. Dunn’s throw was depicted in stickers, murals and even Halloween costumes.
The sandwich incident took place around the same time National Guard troops began arriving in the capital as part of Trump’s efforts to fight crime. The administration also deployed additional federal agents into the city, who set up police checkpoints and made immigration arrests, sparking backlash from residents who argued the moves were an overreach.
The August incident captured on video shows Dunn yelling at officers in the U Street Corridor, a popular nightlife area.
“F--- you!” Dunn said. “You f---ing fascists! Why are you here? I don’t want you in my city!”
After throwing the sub, Dunn was chased and arrested by officers, who later released him. Later, he was charged with felony assault on law enforcement, although the grand jury declined to indict him. The White House appeared to relish Dunn's arrest, posting a dramatic edited video of the moment.
Following the incident, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Dunn had been fired from the Justice Department, where he had worked as a paralegal.
