by A man was charged on Wednesday with assaulting a federal officer after he allegedly threw a sandwich at a federal agent who was on patrol in Washington this week after accusing him and other agents of being fascists.
The day before President Donald Trump announced that his administration was temporarily taking over Washington’s police force and sending National Guard troops and federal agents into the city for patrols, the police said the man threw a sub-style sandwich at a Customs and Border Protection officer on Sunday night.
Near the intersection of 14th and U Streets in Northwest D.C., a well-liked neighborhood with lots of eateries and bars, a man was seen ranting at the agents repeatedly in a video of the encounter that went viral. “Shame!” he shouted from the other side of the street.
According to the video, he approached the officers at one point and reprimanded them while warning them to retreat.
Following several minutes of shouting, the man stopped for a moment, rolled up, and flung the sandwich at the CBP officer’s chest before fleeing into the street while being pursued by police. Screenshots of the footage were included in an affidavit filed with the criminal complaint by Daina Henry, a transit police investigator.
The detective wrote that the man charged in the crime, identified as Sean C. Dunn, 37, had confessed after he was apprehended. I succeeded. According to the detective, he said, “I threw the sandwich.”
Dunn did not reply to demands for comment, and court documents did not identify a lawyer or any upcoming court appearances. Dunn was taken into custody by police officers from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, who later announced that he had been freed pending a court appearance.
According to the legislation, he faces a maximum sentence of one year in jail for the offense, or up to eight years if it includes physical contact or the intent to conduct another criminal.
The officer who was hit by the sandwich was one of those who started chasing right away and did not show any signs of being hurt in the video.
The video has come to represent the sentiments of some Washingtonians over Trump’s deployment of federal law enforcement to the city’s streets. It has also been condemned by others as indicative of disrespect and dehumanization of the police.
The U.S. attorney’s office, currently headed by Jeanine Pirro, who was selected by Trump and has publicly backed his most recent proposal, will prosecute the case because it was filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington.
Pirro said in an online video that the sandwich thrown at the agent was from Subway, as many had conjectured and as evidenced by a picture of a wrapper that appeared to have been taken at the scene.
In an internet video, Pirro stated of the defendant, “I found it amusing.” Since we charged him with a felony, he doesn’t find it humorous today.
The New York Times was the first publication of this article.
