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Jury selection is starting this morning in a case that has come to symbolize how many in the nation's capital feel about the Trump administration's surge here. It involves a man who threw a sandwich at a federal officer in D.C. this August. He has pled not guilty to an assault charge. NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson has this report.
CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: The image of a man in a pink shirt hurling a footlong sub is all over the place. He's on billboards, T-shirts and outdoor Halloween decorations. Today, the man himself is set to appear in federal court on a charge of assaulting a federal officer. The story begins the night of August 10. That's when camera footage captured Sean Charles Dunn calling officers racists and fascists before he tossed a hoagie at one of them and ran away.
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SEAN CHARLES DUNN: You see these fascists? Right here in our city?
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Fascists?
JOHNSON: Dunn is an Air Force veteran. He worked at the Justice Department until he was fired by Attorney General Pam Bondi, who called him an example of the deep state. A grand jury in D.C. refused to indict him on a felony charge. Instead, prosecutors are moving ahead with a less serious misdemeanor case. Dunn says he's being singled out because of his criticism of the Trump administration. He volunteered to surrender to authorities, but his lawyer says at least 20 federal agents showed up at his apartment to put him in handcuffs. Later, the White House posted a slick video of the arrest.
PAUL BUTLER: The prosecutors really seem out to get this guy.
JOHNSON: That's Paul Butler, a law professor at Georgetown University. He says the disparaging remarks from Justice Department officials and the fact Dunn lost his job may be beside the point.
BUTLER: Those facts might make Mr. Dunn a more sympathetic defendant to the jury. But they're not pertinent to whether he threw a sandwich at a law enforcement officer, which is the principal issue the jury will be asked to determine.
JOHNSON: The trial's scheduled to last about two days. Dunn's being represented by two former federal public defenders. They've worked on cases involving the promoter of the troubled Fyre Festival and terrorism suspects. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro told reporters last week she's hoping the jury in this case has an open mind.
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JEANINE PIRRO: No one should come in with preconceived notions or feelings that are going to impact the way they accept and receive the evidence.
JOHNSON: Prospective jurors will be asked whether they have such strong views about President Trump and his Safe and Beautiful Task Force for D.C. that they can't be fair.
Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington.
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