A federal jury in Washington, D.C., on Thursday found former Department of Justice paralegal Sean Dunn not guilty of assaulting a federal agent whom he had thrown a Subway sandwich at in August.
Dunn's acquittal after just several hours of deliberations was the latest rebuke to the DOJ in the case.
U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro's prosecutors previously failed to get a grand jury in D.C. to indict the 37-year-old on a felony assault charge.
Pirro's office then filed a misdemeanor charge against him, which went to trial this week. Jurors began deliberations on Wednesday.
Dunn was charged in connection with tossing a sandwich at Customs and Border Protection Officer Greg Lairmore on on Aug. 10 along the U Street nightlife corridor in Washington.
Lairmore and other federal authorities were deployed in D.C. by President Donald Trump in response to what the president claimed was rampant crime in the capital city.
"F--- you! You f---ing fascists! Why are you here? I don't want you in my city!" Dunn allegedly shouted at a group of federal officers before hurling the sandwich at one of them.
Dunn was fired by the DOJ, where he worked in the criminal division's international affairs section, after his arrest.
Dunn's attorney, Sabrina Shroff, during closing arguments on Wednesday said that the confrontation was the result of his "strongly held feelings" about immigration enforcement, NBC News reported.
Shroff also told jurors that "you are the ones impacted by the executive orders" issued by Trump which put federal law enforcement officers on the streets of D.C., NBC reported.
"You are the ones impacted by the executive orders … there was and remains a huge law enforcement presence in the district,' Shroff said.
The defense attorney also argued that the, "The sandwich did not impede Officer Lairmore's duties that night .... A footlong from Subway could not and certainly did not inflict bodily harm," NBC reported.
Shroff also noted that Lairmore had received two "gag gifts" from co-workers, a plush sandwich and a patch featuring a cartoon of Dunn throwing the sandwich with the words "Felony Footlong,' according to the outlet.
"If someone assaulted you, if someone offended you, would you keep a memento of their assault? Would you stick it on your daily lunchbox and carry it with you day in and day out?" she asked.
