Federal prosecutors downgraded a charge against the former Justice Department employee accused of throwing a sandwich at a Customs and Border Protection officer in downtown Washington to misdemeanor assault.
The Justice Department on Thursday filed what’s known as an “information” charging Sean Charles Dunn, 37, under a statute that bars assaulting, resisting, or interfering with federal law enforcement officers.
Prosecutors originally said they were pursuing a felony case against Dunn. That would require a grand jury’s approval, whereas a misdemeanor can move forward without it. The New York Times and other press outlets reported Wednesday that a grand jury rejected charging Dunn with a felony.
The incident involving Dunn came earlier this month as federal agents started to flood DC’s streets in response to directives from President Donald Trump to surge law enforcement in the city.
A video that quickly went viral online showed Dunn repeatedly yelling at CBP officers who were stationed on the corner of 14th and U Street in Washington the night of Aug. 10, before winding his arm back and throwing a sandwich at the chest of one.
Attorney General Pam Bondi later said Dunn, who served in the Office of International Affairs in the DOJ’s Criminal Division, had been fired as a result of the incident.
The law Dunn is charged with violating can carry up to one year in prison for what’s defined as simple assault. Dunn’s lawyer, Sabrina P. Shroff, declined to comment.
Dunn is among a growing group of people who have been charged by the US attorney’s office in Washington with assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal officers in recent weeks. Prosecutors, however, have run into difficulty in securing some indictments.
On Aug. 25, government lawyers revealed three separate grand juries declined to return a felony charge in a case alleging a woman assaulted an FBI agent assisting in the transfer of a DC jail inmate to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.
Occasions where grand juries decline to sign off on an indictment are rare, as prosecutors control what goes before them and must meet a lower standard of proof than at trial.
Like Dunn’s case, prosecutors are now pursuing that charge as a misdemeanor. The woman, Sydney Lori Reid, has pleaded not guilty.
The case is USA v. Dunn, D.D.C., 1:25-cr-00252-CJN, 8/28/25
To contact the reporter on this story: