Man charged with throwing sandwich at US agent was Justice Department employee
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A man was arrested in Washington after throwing a “sub-style sandwich” at a US Customs and Border Protection agent on Aug 10.
PHOTO: X/@LIBSOFTIKTOK
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- Sean Dunn, a Justice Department employee, was fired and charged with felony assault for throwing a sandwich at a federal agent in Washington, DC.
- Dunn allegedly yelled "I don't want you in my city" and called officers "fascists" before throwing the sandwich, according to a criminal complaint.
- The incident occurred during increased federal presence in DC, sparking mixed reactions, with some residents welcoming the added security.
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WASHINGTON – A man facing a felony assault charge for throwing a sandwich at a federal agent during President Donald Trump’s crackdown on crime in Washington worked at the US Justice Department, Attorney-General Pam Bondi said on Aug 14.
Sean Dunn, 37, assisted lawyers on international cases in the department’s Criminal Division, a Justice Department official said.
“I just learnt that this defendant worked at the Department of Justice – no longer,” Ms Bondi wrote on social media platform X.
“Not only is he fired, (but) he has (also) been charged with a felony.”
Dunn has not entered a plea. His attorney had no immediate comment on the charge, which carries up to a year in prison.
The episode has received widespread attention as the Trump administration has deployed federal agents to canvass Washington neighbourhoods and temporarily taken control of the city’s police department to curb what the US leader has depicted as a crime emergency in the US capital, though statistics show violent crime has fallen sharply since 2023.
The increased federal presence has drawn a mixed response from residents of the overwhelmingly Democratic city.
Several agents on patrol in the Navy Yard neighbourhood were occasionally heckled on the night of Aug 13, with one onlooker warning others to “hide your kids, hide your wives” and criticising their bulletproof vests.
Dunn was charged with assaulting, resisting and impeding officers after he allegedly threw the sandwich at a US Customs and Border Protection agent on the night of Aug 10.
He allegedly called the officers “fascists” and yelled “I don’t want you in my city” before “winding his arm back and forcefully throwing a sub-style sandwich” at the agent, according to a criminal complaint.
Dunn was taken into custody at the scene and admitted to throwing the sandwich, according to the charging document.
The officer did not appear to be injured, according to a video on social media.
Dunn was taken into custody again overnight on Aug 14 after the federal charge was filed.
His arrest was one of nine the Federal Bureau of Investigation was involved in on the night of Aug 13 in Washington, ranging from low-level drug offences to illegal gun possession, according to a different Justice Department official.
Around midnight on Aug 13, more than a dozen agents took a man into custody in the Brightwood neighbourhood for driving without a licence after they pulled him over for driving with overly tinted windows.
A local resident, who identified herself as Miss Anne, said the increased law enforcement was not necessarily a bad thing.
“There are a lot of things happening, so if this makes things better, they are welcome,” she said.
“Does it need to be this much force? We will have to see.” REUTERS
