Demonstrators hold a banner inspired by the work of artist Banksy, showing a masked protester throwing a sandwich, as they attend a "We Are All DC" march, in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 6, 2025. REUTERS/Leah Millis

(Corrects second reference to agent's name in paragraph 11)

By Andrew Goudsward

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The trial of a former U.S. Justice Department staffer who hurled a sandwich at a federal agent during President Donald Trump’s police crackdown in Washington D.C. began on Tuesday with a federal prosecutor telling a jury, “You can’t go around throwing stuff."

Sean Dunn is facing a misdemeanor assault charge in a case that drew widespread attention after video of the encounter went viral. Dunn, who worked on international cases at the Justice Department, became an unlikely symbol of resistance to Trump’s law enforcement surge in the U.S. capital and was scorned by Trump administration officials.

Dunn has pleaded not guilty.

“This case is about the fact that you can’t go around throwing stuff at people when you’re mad,” prosecutor John Parron said during opening statements.

Dunn was caught on video throwing a sub-style sandwich and shouting obscenities at an agent with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, who was on crime-prevention patrol in a busy Washington neighborhood on August 10.

The interaction came as Trump ordered a surge in federal law enforcement to curb what he portrayed as an out-of-control crime problem in Washington, despite police statistics showing a decline in violent crime following an earlier surge.

A lawyer for Dunn, Julia Gatto, admitted it was Dunn, telling the jury, “He did it. He threw the sandwich.”

But Gatto argued that the sandwich was not capable of injuring or interfering with law enforcement, calling it a “harmless gesture.”

“Mr. Dunn has very strong feelings about those policies that brought those officers there,” Gatto said during her opening statement. “He thinks recent immigrant enforcement is racist. He thinks the militarization and takeover of federal law enforcement is fascism.”

Federal prosecutors originally sought a felony charge against Dunn, but downgraded the offense to a misdemeanor after a grand jury declined to approve the indictment.

Gregory Lairmore, a 23-year veteran of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection who was hit with the sandwich, testified that Dunn yelled at officers for several minutes before throwing the sub-style sandwich. Lairmore told the jury that he could feel the impact through his ballistic vest and the sandwich exploded on his uniform smelling "of onions and mustard."

(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Richard Cowan and Andrea Ricci)