DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich thrower
Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
What happened
Federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., failed to secure a felony indictment against a man who threw a sub-style sandwich at a Customs and Border Protection agent in the early days of President Donald Trump's federal deployment in the capital, news organizations reported Wednesday. Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer.
Who said what
It is "highly unusual for grand jurors to refuse to return an indictment," The Associated Press said. In fact, a legal adage holds that "prosecutors could persuade a grand jury to 'indict a ham sandwich.'" Tuesday's "remarkable failure" to indict Dunn "amounted to a sharp rebuke by a panel of ordinary citizens" against Trump's federal takeover of their city, The New York Times said. Federal prosecutors are experiencing an "increasing number of embarrassments" as they seek maximal charges on U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's orders.
Prosecutors certainly "overcharged here," Georgia State University law professor Anthony Michael Kreis told USA Today. The "idea that a sandwich could pose a serious threat of bodily harm to warrant a felony charge beggars belief."
What next?
Pirro's office could try again to obtain an indictment against Dunn, who was fired from his job at the Justice Department after footage of his sandwich toss went viral. Or they could "forgo seeking felony charges and refile his case as a misdemeanor," as they did Monday after failing "not just once but three times to obtain an indictment" against a woman also accused of assaulting a federal officer, the Times said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
