Federal prosecutors faced a significant setback when they were unable to secure a grand jury indictment against Sean Charles Dunn, a former employee of the Department of Justice. The incident in question involved Dunn allegedly throwing a Subway sandwich at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer in Washington, D.C., an event that garnered considerable media attention and was captured on video, as reported by The New York Times on Wednesday.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in D.C. aimed to charge Dunn with felony assault of an officer related to the sandwich-throwing incident that occurred on August 10. Following his arrest, the Department of Justice took immediate action, firing Dunn from his position. However, it remains uncertain whether prosecutors will make another attempt to secure an indictment against him.
Neither the Department of Justice nor the U.S. Attorney's Office in D.C. provided a response to inquiries from CNBC regarding the case. Dunn's attorney, Sabrina Shroff, also declined to offer any comments on the record, leaving many questions unanswered about the future of the case.
It is noteworthy that it is quite uncommon for a grand jury to refuse to return an indictment, particularly in a case that has received extensive media coverage and public interest. This incident marks the second time in just three days that a grand jury has rejected an indictment effort from the U.S. Attorney's Office, which is currently led by former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro.
On Monday, Pirro informed a judge in a different federal criminal case that a grand jury had also returned a "no true bill," indicating it found insufficient probable cause to formally charge the defendant. This string of setbacks comes at a time when President Donald Trump has taken unprecedented steps to address crime in the nation’s capital. He has invoked a rarely used legal authority to temporarily take control of the D.C. police department and has ordered the deployment of 800 National Guard members to the city. Additionally, the presence of federal agents in Washington, D.C. has seen a notable increase.
The failure to secure an indictment in this high-profile case raises questions about the prosecution's strategy and the overall effectiveness of law enforcement initiatives in Washington, D.C. As developments unfold, the public remains keenly interested in both the outcome for Sean Charles Dunn and the broader implications for crime management in the capital.
