The Trump administration brought lights and cameras along to play up the drama as U.S. Marshalls arrested the man allegedly seen throwing a sandwich at a federal agent in a viral video for a second time.
WUSA9 reported that 37-year-old former Department of Justice employee Sean Charles Dunn was arrested on Sunday after social media clips appeared to show him berating a Customs and Border Protection agent and throwing a sandwich before attempting to flee.
Dunn was reportedly released on his own recognizance after appearing in D.C. Superior Court on Monday. Then on Wednesday, Dunn’s attorney Sabrina Shroff said the Justice Department released a new arrest warrant in federal court charging him with felony assault of a federal officer.
According to Shroff, Dunn attempted to turn himself in but the DOJ did not respond to his requests. Instead, around 20 officers showed up to his apartment on Wednesday night and arrested him, as captured in a video posted by the White House on Friday.
The resulting footage of Dunn’s alleged arrest made for a poorly executed take on a Michael Bay movie, strung together with B-roll of police sirens, flashing lights, FBI and SWAT team members standing around in tactical gear and clips of U.S. Marshalls entering Dunn’s apartment building as he surrendered.
The White House branded the clip as part of its “Operation Make D.C. Safe Again Edition”—which has seen National Guard troops and federal law enforcement swarm the nation’s capital after getting the green light from President Donald Trump on Monday.
However, without all the Hollywood special effects added to the alleged clip of Dunn’s arrest, social media commentators took note that all the tactical pomp and circumstance was over a sandwich.
“Is this the sandwich guy? You guys made a dystopian clip of your goons hunting down the subway guy? The guy who offered to turn himself in? But I suppose this photo op was too good an opportunity to give up,” wrote one commentator on X.
Another commentator added on X, “They didn’t even “hunt” him down he was an employee of the DOJ just yesterday until he got fired for his stunt. 💀”
Bondi promptly fired Dunn, who served as an international affairs specialist in the criminal division of the DOJ’s office of international affairs, and rebuked his behavior as an “example of the Deep State” in a Thursday press release announcing his federal assault charge.
“This is an example of the Deep State we have been up against for seven months as we work to refocus DOJ,” Bondi wrote. “You will NOT work in this administration while disrespecting our government and law enforcement.”
Authorities told claim that Dunn pointed his finger in an officer’s face and yelled, “F--k you! You f--king fascists! Why are you here? I don’t want you in my city,” before “winding his arm back and forcefully throwing sub-style sandwich” at an officer.
Another X commentator added, “How about operation: release the Epstein material? 🤔”
The Daily Beast has contacted White House and DOJ representatives to confirm that Dunn is the man being arrested in the video clip.
