A Washington, D.C., resident on trial for allegedly throwing a sandwich at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer claims his actions were a form of protest, not aggression. This declaration marks the early proceedings of his federal court case.

Sean Dunn is currently facing accusations of assaulting and obstructing a federal officer, among other charges. According to The Associated Press, these allegations arise from an incident in which Dunn, who was working as an international affairs expert in the Justice Department’s criminal division, reportedly engaged in disruptive behavior.

The charges are linked to an event where Dunn supposedly launched a sandwich at federal agents to protest President Donald Trump’s decision to mobilize the National Guard in Washington, D.C., on August 10.

“Regardless of your status, you can’t simply throw objects at others out of anger,” Assistant U.S. Attorney John Parron emphasized as Dunn faced a misdemeanor assault charge on Monday.

Dunn stands accused of flinging a Subway sandwich at a federal agent in the nation’s capital, as per the records from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

While Dunn does not dispute that he threw the sandwich at a CBP officer outside a nightclub, his legal team is insisting it was done as an “exclamation point” to express his negative feelings about the National Guard’s deployment within the nation’s capital.

“It was a harmless gesture at the end of him exercising his right to speak out,” defense attorney Julia Gatto said. “He is overwhelmingly not guilty.”

Video of the incident quickly went viral, with Dunn being heralded as a hero by residents throughout the city who also opposed Trump’s move to occupy Washington, D.C., with federal agents.

FBI and Border Patrol officers speak with Sean Charles Dunn, after he allegedly assaulted law enforcement with a sandwich on Aug. 10, 2025 in Washington, D.C.  (Andrew Leyden/Getty Images)

“He did it. He threw the sandwich,” Gatto told the jury. “And now the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia has turned that moment — a thrown sandwich — into a criminal case, a federal criminal case charging a federal offense.”

However, Parron hit back at Dunn’s attorney’s claims.

“Respectfully, that’s not what this case is about,” Parron said. “You just can’t do what the defendant did here. He crossed a line.”

FBI and Border Patrol officers arrest Sean Charles Dunn after he allegedly assaulted law enforcement with a sandwich along the U Street corridor in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 10, 2025. (Andrew Leyden/Getty Images )

A grand jury previously declined to indict Dunn on a felony assault count, with U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office ultimately deciding to bring a misdemeanor charge against him.

The government’s first witness, CBP Agent Gregory Lairmore, took the stand to describe how the sandwich “exploded” when it struck his chest, hitting him hard enough that he felt it through his ballistic vest.

“You could smell the onions and the mustard,” Lairmore added.

Lairmore testified that he was standing outside of a local nightclub with a group of CBP agents when Dunn approached them, allegedly yelling profanities while calling the group “fascists” and “racists” as officers attempted to de-escalate the situation.

“He was red-faced. Enraged. Calling me and my colleagues all kinds of names,” Lairmore said. “I didn’t respond. That’s his constitutional right to express his opinion.”

Dunn allegedly fled the scene after throwing the sandwich, but was apprehended a few blocks away. During the trial, jurors watched body camera video of Dunn’s arrest.

“I was trying to draw them away from where they were,” Dunn said on the video. “I succeeded.”

Dunn’s attorney and the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.