DC sandwich-throwing case was a laughingstock in court, jurors reveal
Jurors who deliberated on the case of a man who threw a sub sandwich at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer in Washington, D.C., said the courtroom was often filled with giggles as witnesses testified and lawyers bantered.
One juror told CBS News that many in the packed courtroom struggled to keep a "straight face" during the proceedings. The accused, Sean Dunn, was ultimately acquitted on his misdemeanor charge of simple assault.
"I mean," the juror said, "it was a thrown sandwich."
"I thought we'd be out of there quickly. This case had no 'grounding.' He threw a sandwich at the agent because he knew it wouldn't hurt," another juror said. "A reasonable person wouldn't think a sandwich is a weapon."
"It seemed to me like an open and closed type of thing," a third juror told the outlet. "It was kind of ridiculous."
"We asked each other: If we only look at this case, can someone really do harm to someone wearing a ballistic vest by throwing a sandwich?"
The trial lasted three days, and jurors deliberated for 7 hours before handing down a verdict on Nov. 6. After it was read, Dunn hugged his lawyers in the courtroom.
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During the trial, Dunn’s legal team insisted he threw the sandwich in protest of President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in Washington, D.C., and it was not a violent attack.
"I believe that I was protecting the rights of immigrants. And let us not forget that the Great Seal of the United States says, E Pluribus Unum," Dunn said after the verdict was read. "That means, from many, one, every life matters, no matter where you came from, no matter how you got here, no matter how you identify, you have the right to live a life that is free."
Video of the incident quickly went viral, with Dunn being heralded as a hero by residents throughout the city.
Dunn’s lawyers did not dispute that Dunn threw the sandwich at a CBP officer outside a nightclub, though they insisted it was done as an "exclamation point" to express his negative feelings about the National Guard’s deployment within the nation’s capital.
"It was a harmless gesture at the end of him exercising his right to speak out," defense attorney Julia Gatto said during the trial. "He is overwhelmingly not guilty."
Fox News' Greg Norman contributed to this report.