WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal jury on Thursday found former Department of Justice paralegal Sean Dunn not guilty of assaulting a federal officer after he threw a Subway sandwich during a heated confrontation in August.
The verdict came after only a few hours of deliberation, marking another setback for the Justice Department in a case that had already struggled to gain traction.
Prosecutors from the office of U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro had previously failed to secure a felony indictment from a grand jury. They later pursued a misdemeanor assault charge, which went to trial this week. Jurors began deliberations Wednesday and delivered the acquittal Thursday afternoon.
The charge stemmed from an August 10 incident along Washington’s U Street corridor, where Dunn allegedly tossed a sandwich at Customs and Border Protection Officer Greg Lairmore. Federal officers, including Lairmore, had been deployed to the capital at the direction of President Donald Trump, citing rising crime in the city.
According to prosecutors, Dunn shouted profanities at the officers before throwing the sandwich. Following his arrest, he was terminated from his position in the DOJ’s Criminal Division, where he worked in the Office of International Affairs.
Artwork referencing the case later appeared on a restaurant wall in the Adams Morgan neighborhood, depicting Dunn as part of the broader controversy surrounding the Trump administration’s expanded federal law enforcement presence in D.C.
During closing arguments, Dunn’s attorney Sabrina Shroff argued that her client acted out of frustration over immigration enforcement policies rather than intent to harm. “The sandwich did not impede Officer Lairmore’s duties that night,” she told jurors, adding, “A footlong from Subway could not and certainly did not inflict bodily harm.”
Shroff emphasized the political backdrop of the case, saying jurors themselves had been affected by the executive orders that sent federal officers into D.C. streets. She also highlighted what she called the “mocking” response from Lairmore’s colleagues, who later gave him a plush sandwich toy and a patch reading ‘Felony Footlong’ referencing the incident.
“If someone truly assaulted you, would you keep a souvenir of it and carry it around?” Shroff asked jurors.
The jury ultimately agreed with the defense that the encounter did not meet the legal threshold for assault, acquitting Dunn of all charges.
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