Via NBC News: Jury acquits D.C. ‘sandwich guy’ charged with chucking a sub at a federal agent.
Jurors showed no appetite for the Justice Department’s case against “sandwich guy,” the D.C. resident who chucked a Subway sandwich at the chest of a federal officer, finding him not guilty Thursday after several hours of deliberations.
[…]
Border Patrol Officer Greg Lairmore received two “gag gifts” related to the incident — a plush sandwich and a patch featuring a cartoon of Dunn throwing the sandwich with the words “Felony Footlong” — which the defense team argued showed this was not a serious event in his life.
Lairmore had testified that the sandwich “exploded all over” his chest and claimed he could smell mustard and onions. But a photo showed that the sandwich was still in its wrapper on the ground after it hit Lairmore in his bulletproof vest.
Yes, the horror of it all.
Calling this “assault” is patently ridiculous.
Look, as a general matter, I do not condone throwing anything at law enforcement, and it was likely an ill-advised move by Dean (the “Sandwich Guy”) as it led to him losing his federal job.
But, by the same token, prosecutorial discretion is supposed to be a thing. The initial attempt to charge him with a felony was rejected by a grand jury, and I have little doubt that part of what is going on here is the jury sending a signal that this was not worth anyone’s time.
File this as a small victory against attempts to intimidate the public.
