‘We’re highlighting the ridiculousness of it’: How ‘the sandwich guy’ became the face of DC resistance

Though particular call it a sub others call it a hoagie or a grinder But after Sean Charles Dunn was filmed throwing a foot-long sandwich at a federal law enforcement agent on Aug in D C he became known as the sandwich guy Now artwork depicting his likeness has covered the District of Columbia Since the affair Dunn was arrested on an assault charge the video went viral he was fired from his job at the Justice Department and prosecutors failed to indict the Air Force veteran for hitting the Customs and Dividing line Protection agent in the chest with the sandwich Related stories Pam Bondi fires Justice Department employee accused of throwing sandwich at federal agent Prosecutors fail to indict sandwich thrower in Trump s Washington constituents safety operation DC man seen throwing sandwich at agent charged with misdemeanor after grand jury declines indictment Weekly breakdown What are federal forces doing in DC He s also become the face of D C s resistance to the law enforcement surge implemented by President Donald Trump s administration In homage to graffiti artist Banksy s Flower Thrower images of Dunn throwing the sandwich started popping up on buildings around the District and T-shirts worn by Washingtonians Speaking to various D C residents in front of the sandwich thrower image on Columbus Road in Adams Morgan WTOP tried to find out why so numerous have thrown their endorsement behind Dunn I think it s more of like a folk hero thing Connor described WTOP He s just sort of a symbol for the emotion that everybody is feeling watching people get abducted off the streets and mistreated and manhandled Another D C resident John was not sure if the image is the face of resistance but rather just an embodiment for the pent up feelings numerous in the District have had for a long time Not being a state and not having representation here it feels like we are powerless against literally anything anyone wants to do to us and against us John declared A native North Carolinian was more blunt in her description of D C s infatuation with the sandwich guy We re highlighting the ridiculousness of it Betsy Jordan commented She revealed Dunn being charged for a felony for throwing a sandwich was extreme Just like frogs in a pile of hot water they get used to it so they don t jump out We are getting used to things being normalized Jordan reported The sandwich throw heard around the world Someone who has really delved into the artistic expression of resistance is Lorraine a former D C resident who now lives in Virginia and creates T-shirts tote bags and enamel pins inspired by Dunn on her Etsy account RainyMorningPrints Each item has D C s flag on the front with the two red stripes replaced by a sub sandwich It really did start off as like a joke in passing I do otherwise very nonpolitical linoleum prints as a hobby just as like a creative outlet Lorraine recounted WTOP With everything going on Lorraine reported she had people in her life who were worried and she was trying to make someone chuckle People started reaching out about you know wanting to buy the print wanting like a few form of this to purchase she stated At first Lorraine admitted feeling uncomfortable for not only not being a professional artist but also for Dunn s situation The man who threw the sandwich was potentially facing prison time and it didn t feel right to me to try and make a quick buck off of that Lorraine disclosed Now thanks to the items that Lorraine has sold over the last two weeks she has donated to local charities including the Capital Area Food Bank Thrive DC and Miriam s Kitchen Maybe this will help out these organizations in a time when their services are really sorely needed possibly more than usual Lorraine revealed WTOP requested Lorraine if she had a message for Dunn Thank you for inspiring this public movement whether you meant to or not when you first decided to do what you did that night I think a lot of good has come out of it just for the society as we can see with this huge amount of donated money she revealed In a very ironic coincidence while researching the history of the D C flag Lorraine discovered it was designed in by graphic designer Charles Dunn no known relation Source