Sean Dunn had had enough–he’d had enough of federal agents on the streets of Washington, D.C., but it appears he hadn’t had enough of his sandwich. When he threw it into the chest of a Customs and Border Protection officer on the evening of August 13, 2025, it was still a pretty big sandwich – though not enough to penetrate the officer’s protective vest.
But if you ask Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Dunn’s sandwich was a deadly weapon at close range. In a video announcing his arrest, she claimed he “thought it was funny. Well, he doesn’t think it’s funny today, because we charged with him with a felony.”
It’s safe to say that Dunn probably still thinks it’s funny (just like everyone else), because her crack team of federal prosecutors failed to convince a grand jury that a hero throwing a sandwich into a bulletproof vest was worthy of a felony charge.
He called the officers “fascists” and told them he didn’t want them in “my city,” before throwing the “submarine-style sandwich.” Dunn was then chased down by no fewer than three heavily armed officers. Later, the government released a video of SWAT officers swarming Dunn’s apartment, because maybe he had an entire deli in there.
The next day, he was charged with felony assault. When his identity was revealed, prosecutors learned he was a Department of Justice employee, the DOJ apparently tried to make an example out of him, making an already absurd situation all the more ridiculous.
“If you touch any law enforcement officer, we will come after you,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a post on the social media platform X. “I just learned that this defendant worked at the Department of Justice — NO LONGER. Not only is he FIRED, he has been charged with a felony.”
The charge is an enhanced version of a misdemeanor charge, but one that requires bodily injury to the victim and carries a sentence of up to eight years in federal prison. But, even though Dunn admitted to the act, prosecutors told reporters that they had no reason to detain him, and he was released on his own recognizance.
On August 27, The New York Times reported that the Department of Justice failed to secure a felony indictment. Despite having complete control of all the information grand juries will hear during indictment hearings, and with no defense attorneys present, the prosecution could not convince the jury that Dunn’s assault with a deli weapon amounted to a felony.
Dunn is an Air Force veteran who served as a cyber transport systems specialist between 2006 and 2011, who served at least one tour in Afghanistan. He separated with the rank of staff sergeant and a Good Conduct Medal, among other awards.
The government could choose to charge Dunn with a lesser misdemeanor assault charge, which does not require an indictment. He will have to appear in Federal District Court on Sept. 4 for a preliminary hearing to determine if a crime was committed during the sandwich-throwing incident.
There’s no word on how the CBP officer is recovering from his wounds.
