Food item thrown by activist supposedly shattered and caused mustard stain on immigration officer, court hears
A US immigration agent has declared in court he could sense through his ballistic vest the force of a sandwich thrown at him by a DC demonstrator, who has gone on trial for physical attack.
Customs and Border Patrol agent the government official told the court panel the sandwich "burst all over him" and he "could smell the onions and mustard" on his uniform.
Both legal teams challenges that the accused, in his thirties, did in fact hurl profanities and a made-to-order snack at officers sent by the administration to monitor the Washington DC in the summer month.
The incident was captured on video and went viral, making the defendant a figure of dissent in the capital to the former president.
Federal attorneys originally tried to achieve felony charges against the accused, but a judicial committee chose not to prosecute him.
The former president's deployment of armed forces to the federal district this summer sparked anger from some of the city's residents, who saw it as a political use of the military.
According to court papers, the defendant approached a law enforcement team at about 11 PM on August 10, referring to them "authoritarians" and exclaiming: "Why are you here? You are not welcome in my city!"
The trial observed a re-enactment from the agent on the court date as he testified against the accused.
"I detected it through my ballistic vest," he testified of the sandwich's impact, noting that an onion string dangled from his police radio and sauce discolored his shirt.
The defendant's attorney, the defense attorney, stated in her court presentation that hurling the deli product was a "non-threatening act that did not, could not, create physical damage".
But government attorney the prosecutor maintained the defendant must be facing consequences.
"Whatever your status, you cannot simply hurling objects at others because you're mad," the prosecutor said.
Subsequent to the reported incident was revealed, Mr Dunn was fired from his position as a legal assistant in the government law department.
