Attorneys representing a former Justice Department employee accused of hurling a sandwich at a federal Customs and Border Protection officer questioned in court Tuesday whether the impact of the sub was enough to warrant a federal charge.
CBP Agent Gregory Lairmore, who has served with the agency for 23 years, testified in the jury trial in the US District Court for the District of Columbia that the sandwich that Sean Charles Dunn is accused of throwing at Lairmore’s chest on the evening of Aug. 10 “exploded all over my uniform,” and left behind mustard stains and an onion hanging on his radio antenna.
“I could feel the impact through my bulletproof vest,” Lairmore told John Parron, assistant US attorney in Washington, during questioning Tuesday.
Sabrina Shroff, Dunn’s lead attorney in the case, focused much of her cross examination on whether the sandwich did, in fact, explode, referencing a video of the sandwich on the ground that a witness took and posted on social media. The sandwich, while broken, remained loosely wrapped in Subway-branded paper and appeared to remain at the site of the incident at the corner of 14th Street and U Street Northwest in Washington.
“In fact, that sandwich hasn’t exploded at all,” Shroff said while questioning Lairmore.
The defense team is aiming to make the case that the viral incident that occurred during President Donald Trump’s law enforcement takeover in the US capital wasn’t conduct that warranted a federal charge.
The federal prosecutor’s office is attempting to secure a conviction after multiple failed attempts to bring federal charges against similar protesters in connection with the Trump administration’s law enforcement surge in major US cities.
Dunn, 37, has been charged with a misdemeanor under a statute that bars assaulting, resisting, or interfering with federal law enforcement officers. Dunn pleaded not guilty in September to the downgraded charge after a grand jury declined to indict him on a felony assault charge.
Dunn was fired from his role as an international affairs specialist with the Office of International Affairs within DOJ’s Criminal Division shortly after the incident, according to an announcement by Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Tuesday was the first day of the trial overseen by Trump-appointed Judge Carl Nichols after a full day of jury selection Monday. Nichols said early Monday that it would be a short trial, calling it “the simplest case in the history of the world.”
The judge dismissed the jury Tuesday afternoon until Wednesday morning to give both sides time to work out details of the offense to include in final instructions for the jury before it begins its deliberations.
Parron said in the government’s opening statement to the jury Tuesday that Dunn “crossed the line” by allegedly throwing the sandwich at Lairmore.
“You can’t go around throwing stuff at people when you’re mad,” Parron said.
Julia Gatto, partner at Steptoe LLP and one of Dunn’s defense attorneys, said in her opening statement that Dunn “did it—he threw the sandwich.” She added, however, that this act was “a harmless gesture at the end of him exercising his right to speak out.”
Dunn’s defense team questioned Lairmore on two gifts he received from his colleagues after the Aug. 10 incident—a plush sandwich that Lairmore said he has since placed on his work desk and a patch that includes the word “footlong.”
The federal prosecutor’s office also called to the stand Metro Transit Police Department Detective Daina Henry, who witnessed the alleged sandwich throw and joined officers who ran after Dunn before apprehending him. Henry confirmed that at least 15 additional law enforcement officers joined the street corner where Dunn was detained and remained there for at least 30 minutes.
Gatto questioned why so many officers remained there for that long. Henry said they were “being present on the scene.”
Body camera footage played for the jury showed Dunn in a Metropolitan Police Department processing room following the arrest. Dunn could be heard in the video saying, he was “trying to draw them away from where they were,” and, “I succeeded.”
The case is USA v. Dunn, D.D.C., No. 1:25-cr-00252, jury trial held 11/4/25.
(Reporting by Celine Castronuovo)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Bloomberg news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
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