WASHINGTON—A man charged with throwing a sandwich at a federal agent on Aug. 13 was an employee of the Department of Justice (DOJ), according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The man, whose name has not been publicly released, has been fired, she said.
“If you touch any law enforcement officer, we will come after you. I just learned that this defendant worked at the Department of Justice—NO LONGER. Not only is he FIRED, he has been charged with a felony,” Bondi posted on X.
President Donald Trump has deployed the National Guard to Washington and taken over the city’s Metropolitan Police Department.
A 29-second video of the incident was posted online.
It shows a man standing across from a law enforcement officer and throwing a Subway sandwich at him, then fleeing the scene. The man was caught following a foot chase.
“The @FBI arrested this individual last night. He has been charged with felony assault on a federal officer,” FBI Director Kash Patel said on X, accompanied by a video of the incident.
Bondi said the incident exemplifies resistance inside the Justice Department to the Trump administration’s agenda.
“This is an example of the Deep State we have been up against for seven months as we work to refocus DOJ,” she wrote on X. “You will NOT work in this administration while disrespecting our government and law enforcement.”
There were 45 arrests made in Washington on the evening of Aug. 13, according to Patel, including the former DOJ employee.
“The FBI and our partners made 45 arrests—29 immigration-related, 16 tied to the violent crime surge, and 3 firearm seizures,” Patel wrote on X.Charges included illegal firearms, possession of child sex abuse material, drug trafficking, and assault on a federal officer. There were also fugitive apprehensions.
The president has instructed federal law enforcement to patrol the nation’s capital for 24 hours, seven days a week. The federal government can control the city’s police department for 30 days. Congress must approve any extension.
Trump said an extension will be needed.
“We’re going to be asking for extensions on that—long-term extensions,” he said on Aug. 13. “You can’t have 30 days.”
Trump announced on Aug. 11 a takeover of Washington’s local police department and the deployment of National Guard personnel to the city.
“This is Liberation Day in D.C., and we’re going to take our capital back,“ Trump said at a press conference. ”We’re taking it back under the authorities vested in me as the president of the United States.”
He said Bondi is “taking command of the Metropolitan Police Department” and that Drug Enforcement Administration leader Terry Cole is “designated as the interim federal commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Department.”
The National Guard does not have the authority to arrest people, but they can detain them until law enforcement arrives.
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser has criticized Trump’s moves, calling them “unsettling.”
“My message to residents is this,” she said at an Aug. 11 press conference. “We know that access to our democracy is tenuous. That is why you have heard me and many Washingtonians before me advocate for full statehood.”
“We are not experiencing a crime spike,” she said on MSNBC on Aug. 10.
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