Sean Dunn is facing a serious federal assault charge after throwing a Subway sandwich at a federal officer in Washington, D.C. No one was injured. The sandwich was not a weapon. Yet the Department of Justice is pursuing the harshest possible charges — charges that could mean years in prison — for what was clearly a nonviolent, symbolic act.

This is not justice. This is intimidation. By treating a tossed sandwich like a violent felony, the DOJ is sending a message: speak out, engage in political protest, or even make a symbolic statement — and you could face life-altering punishment. This kind of prosecutorial overreach doesn’t protect public safety; it chills free expression and deters lawful dissent.

Throwing food at someone, especially without causing harm, should never be equated with armed assault. The punishment must fit the facts, and here the facts are clear: this was a political statement, not an act of violence. But the DOJ’s extreme response turns a minor act of protest into a precedent for silencing others through fear of disproportionate sentencing.

Sean should be held accountable — but in a way that’s proportional to the incident. That means reducing the charges to reflect the nonviolent nature of what happened, and pursuing alternatives to incarceration that don’t destroy someone’s life over a moment of symbolic protest. Anything else risks making a mockery of our justice system.

We call on the Department of Justice to immediately drop the extreme assault charge against Sean Dunn and replace it with a fair, proportionate charge that reflects reality — not a politically motivated overreaction. Justice should never be used as a weapon to intimidate dissenters.

This case is about more than one person. It’s about whether our justice system will treat political speech — even speech that’s messy or disruptive — as a right to be protected, or as a threat to be crushed. We cannot allow fear and overreach to replace fairness and freedom.

Sign this petition to demand the DOJ stop using extreme sentences to intimidate protesters, and ensure that nonviolent political acts are not punished like violent crimes.