By Sarah N. Lynch and Andrew Goudsward
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A federal grand jury declined to indict a former Justice Department staffer who was arrested for throwing a sandwich at a federal law enforcement agent during U.S. President Donald Trump’s crime crackdown in Washington, a source briefed on the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
U.S. prosecutors had sought a felony assault charge against Sean Dunn, who had worked on international cases at the Justice Department. He was fired after being caught on video hurling a sub-style sandwich at a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Agent on August 10 in a bustling Washington neighborhood.
The decision marked the second time in recent days that a grand jury stymied federal prosecutors in Washington seeking a felony indictment, typically a routine step in bringing in a criminal case. It is highly unusual for a grand jury to reject such a request given that the prosecutor alone controls the presentation of evidence and must clear a lower legal bar than a jury at a criminal trial. This dynamic led to an oft-quoted observation from a New York judge that a good prosecutor could indict a “ham sandwich.”
The failure to indict in this sandwich-related case illustrates the challenges facing prosecutors in Washington as they face orders to bring the most severe federal charges available against those arrested in law enforcement sweeps. The Trump administration has deployed federal agents and National Guard troops to curb what Trump has portrayed as an out-of-control crime problem in the nation’s capital, despite police statistics showing a decline in violent crime following an earlier surge.
Prosecutors are likely to try again to seek an indictment before a different grand jury for Dunn, the source said. U.S. law typically gives the Justice Department 30 days to secure an indictment after an arrest.
The New York Times first reported the grand jury’s decision.
Dunn was charged by a criminal complaint with assaulting, resisting and impeding officers. He allegedly called the officers “fascists” and yelled “I don’t want you in my city!” before throwing the sandwich, according to the complaint.
Dunn, who has not entered a plea, became an unlikely symbol of resistance to the Trump administration’s show of force in Washington. Justice Department officials touted the case as they vowed to punish any interference with police, and the White House released a social media video showing several armed agents arresting him.
U.S. prosecutors also tried and failed three times to indict a woman on the same charge for allegedly slamming an FBI agent’s hand during a confrontation outside a Washington jail last month. The charge was downgraded to a misdemeanor.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Andrew Goudsward in Washington; Ryan Patrick Jones and Bhargav Acharya in Toronto; Editing by Franklin Paul and Richard Chang)
