Sean Dunn, the former US Department of Justice employee who was famously hurled a sandwich at Customs and Border Protection officers this past summer, has been found not guilty on misdemeanor assault charges.
Jurors acquitted Dunn on Thursday after deliberating for several hours after his trial ended on Wednesday afternoon. According to CNN, Dunn told reporters after the verdict that he was “relieved and looking forward to moving on with my life.”
US Attorney Jeanine Pirro had originally tried to charge Dunn with felony assault, but lowered the charge to a misdemeanor offense after a grand jury in Washington, DC refused to indict him.
Dunn was caught on camera angrily throwing a sandwich at federal immigration enforcement officers back in August, and he could be heard calling the officers “fascists,” and telling them they were not welcome in his city.
Shortly afterward, Pirro vowed to throw the proverbial book at Dunn for his food-tossing transgression.
“He thought it was funny,” Pirro said in a video she posted on social media. “Well, he doesn’t think it’s funny today because we charged him with a felony. And we’re gonna back the police to the hilt! So, there. Stick your Subway sandwich somewhere else.”
Dunn’s case became a cause célèbre for many Washington, DC residents who have opposed President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard and to conduct aggressive immigration raids in their city.
Many journalists reacted to news of Dunn’s acquittal by deploying a number of sandwich-related puns.
“Apparently you can indict a ham sandwich but you can’t convict turkey sub,” joked tech journalist Kara Swisher in a post on Bluesky.
“You could say he… beat the wrap,” wrote Los Angeles-based independent journalist Mel Buer.
“If the hoagie didn’t hit, you must acquit!” wrote The Bulwark’s Sam Stein on X.
“No assault with a deli weapon after all,” remarked Wall Street Journal reporter Josh Dawsey.
“Congratulations, US Attorney Pirro, for making Sean Dunn the hero that DC deserves,” wrote journalist Marcy Wheeler.
“Another jury finds another Trump DOJ case sub-par,” wrote Adam Klasfeld, editor-in-chief of All Rise News.
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