Fired DOJ employee could face prison for throwing sandwich at officers

Attorney General Pam Bondi said Thursday that a Justice Department employee has been fired after he was arrested on charges of allegedly throwing a sandwich at a federal law enforcement officer Sunday evening.

In court documents filed Wednesday, police allege that Sean Charles Dunn approached law enforcement officers, including Metro Transit Police and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, and began yelling obscenities and calling them “fascists.”

At about 11:05 p.m., according to the federal court filing, Dunn, 37, approached an officer and threw a sandwich at him. He was charged with “assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and employees of the United States.”

After his arrest, Dunn allegedly told one of the officers: “I did it. I threw a sandwich.”

“If you touch any law enforcement officer, we will come after you,” Bondi posted on X Thursday. “This is an example of the Deep State we have been up against for seven months as we work to refocus DOJ.”

Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, announced in a video posted on X on Wednesday afternoon that Dunn would be charged with a felony.

Dunn was an international affairs specialist in the criminal division of the Justice Department, according to a person who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss personnel matters. The D.C. resident made an initial appearance before a magistrate judge in federal court Thursday afternoon.

Prosecutors said he was being charged with forcibly assaulting, resisting or impeding a federal officer, which is punishable by up to eight years in prison. Dunn has no criminal history and would not be eligible for the maximum penalty at sentencing if convicted.

Dunn gave only a few brief answers to the magistrate judge’s questions, but smiled as he conferred with his defense attorney, Sabrina Shroff, after the court agreed to release him on his own recognizance for now.

Shroff said that following his arrest on Sunday, Dunn was taken to D.C. Superior Court and then released without being charged. On Wednesday, a federal warrant was issued, charging him with a felony.

In court, Shroff said that she and Dunn worked to facilitate his voluntary surrender Wednesday but it was unclear which prosecutor at the U.S. attorney’s office was responsible for the case.

Shroff said the government sent “20 police officers to his home” to arrest Dunn Wednesday night and did not allow him to call her.

“He did absolutely the most responsible thing by trying to surrender,” said Shroff, who noted that Dunn is an Air Force veteran. The court scheduled a preliminary hearing in the case for Sept. 4.

D.C. federal prosecutors in another recent case noted that people have been similarly charged for physically assaulting, spitting on, throwing urine at or attempting to grab batons from federal officers.

Earlier on Thursday, a D.C. woman who was arrested on charges of spitting on Ed Martin, the former acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, pleaded guilty to assaulting federal officers and could be imprisoned. Emily Gabriella Sommer, 33, spit on, kicked and threatened federal officers when they arrested her.

Video of Dunn’s incident, which took place near the corner of 14th and U streets NW, a popular nightlife area in D.C., shows a man in a pink collared shirt, shorts, crew socks and New Balance running shoes yelling at several law enforcement officers while holding a sandwich. As he turned to walk away, he hurled his hoagie at the chest of one of the officers and then ran off with the officers in pursuit.

The video was posted on Instagram under the account @bigap4l and quickly went viral.

Cortez Dargin, the man who recorded the video, said he and his friends were leaving a neighboring nightclub when they heard Dunn shouting. “I was like, ‘Let me record this guy, because he’s going crazy right now,’” Dargin said.

In the video Dunn is seen pointing and shouting obscenities at officers and calling them fascists. He chanted “shame” before turning and walking away from the officers. Shortly after, he returned to the intersection and walked back to where the officers were standing. Dunn then heaved the sandwich at the officer and took off running.

After the incident, Dargin crossed the street to examine the sandwich, which, he said, appeared to have salami.

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• Perry Stein contributed.