The man who threw a sandwich at a federal agent says it was a protest. Prosecutors say it's a crime.

"Dunn doesn't dispute that he threw his submarine-style sandwich at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent outside a nightclub on the night of Aug. 10. It was an "exclamation point" for Dunn as he expressed his opposition to President Donald Trump's law-enforcement surge in the nation's capital, defense attorney Julia Gatto said during the trial's opening statements. "It was a harmless gesture at the end of him exercising his right to speak out," Gatto said. "He is overwhelmingly not guilty.""

"A bystander's cellphone video of the confrontation went viral on social media, turning Dunn into a symbol of resistance against Trump's monthslong federal takeover. Murals depicting him mid-throw popped up in the city virtually overnight. "He did it. He threw the sandwich," Gatto told jurors. "And now the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia has turned that moment - a thrown sandwich - into a criminal case, a federal criminal case charging a federal offense." A grand jury refused to indict Dunn on a felony assault count."

Sean Charles Dunn threw a submarine-style sandwich at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent outside a nightclub on Aug. 10 as a protest against President Donald Trump's law-enforcement surge. Dunn acknowledges throwing the sandwich and a jury must decide a misdemeanor assault charge. Defense counsel describes the act as a harmless exclamation point and an exercise of speech. A grand jury declined to indict on a felony assault count, and the U.S. Attorney instead filed a misdemeanor. A bystander's cellphone video went viral and murals depicting Dunn appeared. CBP Agent Gregory Lairmore testified the sandwich struck his chest and he could smell onions through his vest.

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