WASHINGTON — A federal jury on Wednesday began deliberating a verdict in the case against a man dubbed “sandwich guy” after he tossed a Subway footlong at a federal officer who was patrolling city streets on President Donald Trump's orders.
Sean Dunn, a former Justice Department paralegal, faces a single misdemeanor count after a federal grand jury refused to indict him on the felony charges sought by the Trump administration. The charge stems from an incident in August when Dunn, wearing a pink shirt, confronted officers in the nightlife area at 14th and U St. NW, eventually tossing a salami sub at a federal officer’s ballistic vest.
“This case, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, is about a sandwich,” defense attorney Sabrina Shroff told members of the jury during closing arguments on Wednesday afternoon.
Shroff said that the Border Patrol Officer Greg Lairmore gave “very questionable testimony” when he claimed that the sandwich "exploded all over" his chest and claimed he could smell the mustard and onions. A photo shows that the sandwich was still in its wrapper on the ground after it hit Lairmore in his bulletproof vest.
A sandwich, Shroff said, cannot be a weapon hurled with force anywhere near enough to justify federal charges, and a bulletproof vest, she said, “is definitely going to keep you safe from a sandwich thrown at you.”
Shroff also said the two “gag gifts” that Lairmore received — a plush sandwich and a patch featuring a cartoon of Dunn throwing the sandwich with the words “Felony Footlong” — showed that this was not a serious event in Lairmore’s life.
“If someone assaulted you, if someone offended you, would you keep a memento of their assault? Would you stick it on your daily lunchbox and carry it with you day in and day out?” she asked jurors. She said that Lairmore and his colleagues clearly found the situation funny.
Shroff asked jurors if the situation was really all that different from an 8-year-old or a 10-year-old throwing a temper tantrum.
Shroff said the incident was about Dunn’s “strongly held feelings” about immigration enforcement, and tried to raise the jury’s ire about Trump’s executive order that put federal law enforcement members on the streets of the city.
“You are the ones impacted by the executive orders… there was and remains a huge law enforcement presence in the district,’ Shroff said before prosecutors objected.
Dunn became somewhat of a symbol of resistance in Washington, the subject of murals and Halloween costumes for those showing support for pushing back on the Trump administration’s takeover of policing in the city.
“The sandwich did not impede Officer Lairmore’s duties that night,” Shroff said. “A footlong from Subway could not and certainly did not inflict bodily harm."
On rebuttal, a federal prosecutor told jurors that the case wasn't about dissent or opposition to government actions, saying that the defendant was asking for a "free pass" on his behavior. The prosecutor said that Dunn tossed the footlong like a "baseball pitch, even if it’s a sandwich," and that they had proven that Dunn was guilty.
"We’re not just talking about a sandwich," Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael C. DiLorenzo said. "This isn’t about a sandwich."
