A man was charged with a felony in federal court this week for throwing a sandwich at a border patrol agent in Washington, D.C., amid President Donald Trump’s crackdown on crime and federal takeover of the city’s law enforcement, officials said.
Sean Charles Dunn allegedly approached the federal agent, identified as Customs and Border Patrol Agent Gregory Lairmore, at about 11 p.m. on Aug. 10, as hundreds of officers from multiple agencies patrolled the city after Trump ordered an increased law enforcement presence, according to a criminal complaint reviewed by USA TODAY.
“Why are you here? I don’t want you in my city!” Dunn yelled at the officer, according to the criminal complaint. He also swore and called officers “fascists,” the complaint said.
He then threw a sub-style sandwich at the officer’s chest, the complaint said. Videos of the incident shared to social media show a man in a pink shirt and shorts yelling at officers, then throwing the sandwich and running away as they chase him. Photos show the incident happened in front of a Subway sandwich shop.
Dunn was charged with one count of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers and employees of the United States, the criminal complaint said. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
“He thought it was funny. Well, he doesn’t think it’s funny today because we charged him with a felony, assault on a police officer,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said. “And we’re going to back the police to the hilt.”
“So there, stick your Subway sandwich somewhere else,” Pirro said.
Trump ordered some 450 federal agents to patrol the nation’s capital and target crime on Aug. 9 and 10 amid his escalating rhetoric condemning violent crime in the city. The day after the alleged assault by sandwich, Trump announced he was also deploying National Guard troops to D.C. and seizing federal control of its police department as part of a sweeping effort that would also aim to remove homeless people from the streets.
“I’m announcing a historic action to rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse,” Trump said.
But city officials have said the president’s claims about crime are overblown. Violent crime in the city declined by 35% in 2024, according to data compiled by the Metropolitan Police Department. That year saw the lowest level of violent crime in “over 30 years,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said in a news release.
Contributing: Zac Anderson, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Man who threw sandwich at federal agent in DC charged with crime
