A former Department of Justice employee pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a misdemeanor assault charge after a widely shared video appeared to show him throwing a sandwich at a federal agent in Washington.
Sean Charles Dunn, 37, entered the plea in federal court in Washington, D.C., saying only “Not guilty” into a microphone while standing with his hands behind his back, according to reports. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols set jury selection to begin Nov. 3.
The confrontation, captured on video Aug. 10, showed Dunn approaching several Customs and Border Protection agents and shouting that they were “fascists” and “I don’t want you in my city!” Witnesses and the footage show him then chucking a Subway sandwich at the chest of one officer before attempting to run. Officers caught up with him and arrested him at the scene.
Dunn had been employed as an internal affairs specialist in the DOJ’s criminal division. He was later fired from his position after the arrest. The incident drew broad attention after the video circulated online.
Federal prosecutors initially charged Dunn with felony assault for the episode but were unable to secure a grand jury indictment on that count. The case was subsequently presented as a misdemeanor charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers, according to court filings.
Dunn’s attorney, Sabrina Shroff, did not comment to reporters after the brief hearing, and Dunn left the courthouse without speaking. The misdemeanor count carries lesser penalties than the originally sought felony, and the Nov. 3 date will begin jury selection for a trial on the remaining charge.
The episode occurred amid a larger deployment of federal law enforcement to the nation’s capital that began Aug. 7. Authorities have said the surge has included hundreds of agents and thousands of arrests; federal officials have publicly noted the presence of at least 850 agents and reported more than 2,000 arrests in connection with the broader operation.
Prosecutors have said the video evidence and witness accounts were central to charging decisions. After the initial felony was not sustained by a grand jury, the government moved forward with the misdemeanor count under statutes that prohibit assaulting or impeding federal officers.
Court records show the case will proceed through the federal court’s normal pretrial process before the November jury selection. No additional comments were made by courtroom participants after the hearing, and prosecutors have not released statements beyond the charging documents.
The trial date and the downgraded charge conclude the immediate procedural developments in the case; any future filings, plea negotiations or additional charges would be reflected in subsequent court filings and hearings.