District of Columbia
Queer defiance, footlong in hand: the rise of ‘Sandwich Guy’
Air Force veteran protests federal overreach, becomes viral queer community symbol
From the “Three Arrows” of the Weimar Republic to the raised fist of Black Power to the keffiyeh as a symbol of Palestinian resistance—whenever there is abuse of power, people find ways to push back.
Now, in 2025 Washington, D.C., an unlikely emblem of protest has emerged: a Subway sandwich hurled at a federal officer.
Sean Dunn, an Air Force veteran and Justice Department employee, was out at the increasingly queer intersection of 14th and U streets on Aug. 10. The summer night was buzzing with nightlife, including Bunker (2001 14th St., N.W.), a popular LGBTQ dance club where a Latin dance party called Tropicoqueta—named after Karol G’s fifth album—was in full swing with DJs and drag queens.
Dunn tried to enter the club but was denied at the door for being too intoxicated, according to a knowledgeable source. Instead, he went into the Subway sandwich shop and lingered outside near the corner, where federal officers were posted.
The scene quickly turned tense. Dunn began asking questions, visibly unsettled by the officers’ presence. Some bystanders told him patrons had been questioned about their immigration status as they left the area. “You almost kind of had a lead up to a potential, like, Stonewall-type situation happening there,” one of Dunn’s close friends told the Blade.
Frustration boiled over. Dunn turned his anger directly on the officers. “Fuck you, fascists!” he shouted. “Shame! Shame! Shame! … I don’t want you in my city!”
Videos from the scene show him crossing the street, chanting as the officers moved away. When one yelled back, the confrontation escalated. Dunn, sandwich in hand, reached a breaking point and launched his footlong, striking a Customs and Border Protection agent in the chest.
A chase followed, ending two blocks later with Dunn in handcuffs. He was initially charged with six felonies. A grand jury later declined to indict Dunn on felony charges.
For friends who know him, the act was shocking in form but not in spirit. Dunn, they said, has long embodied a strong internal sense of justice.
“Sean is somebody I’ve always known to be extremely kind, welcoming, very chill,” said his friend, who requested anonymity because of their job. “He was one of the first people I met in D.C., and he’s always quick to include somebody who just needs a friend. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been out at JR.’s and suddenly had a new person in the group just because Sean didn’t want them to be alone.”
That same instinct, the friend believes, guided him on U Street. “He saw people coming after queer immigrants in a space that was supposed to be safe, and I think that made him really mad,” he said. “What made him do this was ultimately an attempt to defend people he felt weren’t being defended.”
Dunn’s résumé reflected that ethic of service. A veteran who served honorably in the Air Force, he later worked as an international affairs specialist at the Justice Department. Though not an attorney, he focused on building cooperation with foreign partners—“trying to keep his head down, do his job, and do the good things for the public that he was able to do,” as his friend put it.
Less than 24 hours after the sandwich toss, Dunn was already becoming a local folk hero. At Dupont Circle gay bar JR.’s, patrons recognized him immediately. “Some were like, ‘Sandwich guy!’” his friend said. “I literally took him up to the bar to buy him a drink, and even the bartender recognized him already.”
The image of Dunn wielding his Subway sandwich quickly spread beyond the gayborhood. Memes, protest signs, and even T-shirts circulated online, framing him as a symbol of resistance against federal overreach. Dunn, according to his friend, welcomed the attention. “I think he saw it more as an act of protest,” he said.
Soon, the sight of a pink-clad man clutching a footlong sandwich was everywhere in D.C.—plastered on alley walls in Shaw, waving from flags in Northeast, and printed across protest art. In just hours, Dunn had gone from a Justice Department employee to a celebrated emblem of defiance against the Trump administration’s tightening grip on the District.
The government, however, took a harsher view. Dunn was fired from his DOJ job and, in a dramatic turn, re-arrested days later in a nighttime raid. Video released by the White House showed heavily armed officers entering his apartment with ballistic shields—“like they were going after El Chapo or something,” his friend said.
To those close to him, the spectacle surrounding Dunn’s case felt wildly disproportionate. “Multiple felony charges for throwing a sandwich?” his friend said. “Under any normal administration, he maybe would have spent a night in the drunk tank and done some community service. Not been charged with a felony.”
That overreach, they believe, is what turned a drunken outburst into something larger. What could have been a forgettable scuffle instead became a viral moment of defiance—one that captured the attention of a community already weary of federal policing in the city.
For many, Dunn’s act is less about the sandwich itself than what it represented: frustration, defiance, and solidarity in a moment when queer spaces once again felt under siege.
“I think his sense of justice and inclusiveness and just doing the right thing for people is a huge motivator for him,” his friend said. “For anybody that knows him, that’s what we love and appreciate about Sean.”
Since that night, Dunn has faced consequences—losing his job, enduring arrests—but also recognition, becoming a symbol of resistance in D.C.’s protest culture. The sandwich toss, caught on camera and spread across the internet, has already secured its place in the city’s long tradition of confrontation and dissent.
District of Columbia
Over 2,000 turn out for Hands Around the Kennedy Center protest
Drag performer Tara Hoot serves as MC, Gay Men’s Chorus of DC performs, attendees shout for Trump to keep ‘hands off’ Kennedy Center
More than 2,000 supporters of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts turned out on Sept. 18, for a rally in support of the performing arts center and a vocal protest against President Donald Trump’s threats to permanently close the center and possibly demolish it.
The event was organized by a group called Hands Off the Arts, which initially called for participants to form a “human chain” around the Kennedy Center’s main building following a rally on the plaza in front of the building.
However, due to a decision by the Trump-controlled Kennedy Center’s board of trustees to close the center earlier in the week and install fencing around part of the building, participants could only form the chain around part of the building, according to organizers.
Drag performer Tara Hoot, who co-organized the event and served as master of ceremonies for the rally preceding the “human chain,” said the large turnout could have fully surrounded the building at least twice had the fencing not prevented a full encirclement.
Among the musicians and singing groups that performed at the rally was the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, which, like other rally performers, had performed at the Kennedy Center in past years. They drew loud applause after singing one of their favorite songs from the Broadway musical show Ragtime, which includes the lyrics, “Will justice be demanded by 10 million men? Make them hear you. When they hear you, I’ll be near you again.”
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Prior to their performance, Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington’s artistic director, Thea Kano, spoke at the rally, reminding participants that shortly after the Trump takeover of the center last year, Kennedy Center officials cancelled a concert the chorus was scheduled to perform there for World Pride 2025.
A Kennedy Center spokesperson said the cancellation was due to a scheduling conflict, but chorus members and LGBTQ activists believe it resulted from policies put in place by Trump and his leadership team at the Kennedy Center following Trump’s statements that he would end controversial “woke” performances that he claimed the majority of Americans disapprove of.
“Now this building sits empty in silence,” Kano told the crowd at the rally. “Let us raise our voices together and bring back the Kennedy Center as it was intended, a place where American culture could be celebrated and elevated, embracing the vibrancy with the spectrum of identify without censure and without politics,” she said.
Among the others who spoke at the rally were U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.), and D.C. Councilmember Robert White (D-At-Large).
Most speakers, along with LGBTQ participants in the hands-around-the-building event expressed strong opposition to Trump’s demand that the Kennedy Center name be changed from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
At Trump’s request, his appointed board initially made that name change and placed Trump’s name on the front wall of the building along with the Kennedy name. But following legal action taken by opponents who pointed out that Congress must approve such a name change, a judge ordered the removal of Trump’s name from the building. Trump has said he will take steps to reverse that order and has said he will stop plans to renovate the Kennedy Center building and possibly demolish it if his name is not restored in the Kennedy’s Center’s official name.
Throughout the Sept. 18 rally, LGBTQ participants repeatedly responded to the Trump threats by shouting, “Hands Off!”
Chris Raleigh, one of the founders of Hands Off the Arts and a lead organizer of the Sept. 18 event at the Kennedy Center who spoke at the event told the Washington Blade that more similar events are being planned and he welcomes the support the event has received from the LGBTQ community.
“The LGBTQ community was here first, and we’re following them,” he said. “They’ve been the spearhead; they’ve been the vanguard. And I’m so thankful for heroes like Tara Hoot,” he said, adding, “It’s because they know what it means and how this is a safe place – the theater – for many LGBTQ people.”
The DMV’s own furry group was on full display on the Metro on Sept. 12.
Shutterpaws is a volunteer-led 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Maryland.
The furry group has been doing the FurRide event since 2024 and has blown up in popularity for furries around DMV. They showcased themselves on the Silver and Blue Lines near the Smithsonian on Sept. 12.
“A lot of careful planning goes into running these events, with the goal being a seamless and enjoyable experience for everyone who attends,” says Zayre, a Shutterpaws staff member. “There’s a lot that you learn just by trial and error, and as Shutterpaws hosts more and more events, our team of event organizers continues to learn and refine our approach to keep things running smoothly and finding new ways to engage with our community.”
With a larger growth of participation in the community comes many challenges with the group, especially when it comes to the Metro rides and organizing.
“The biggest challenge that we face as organizers is keeping things fresh and finding new and engaging venues to host events,” says Zayre. “Recently we saw a lot of success hosting a meet at On Target Battlezone, an indoor NERF gun battle arena where our crew was welcome to show up and play both with and without a fur suit.”
Nevertheless, Shutterpaws receive overwhelming support from the community and partners.
“Across the DMV there are so many amazing places to host a Shutterpaws event so we can pursue our mission of helping connect fur suiters and photographers, and we’re blown away with the amount of support we’ve received from our community partners,” says Zayre.
Shutterpaws plans to do more events for anyone in the DMV who is interested.
Their next event in collaboration with DC Fur Meet will take place at Pitchers (2317 18th St., N.W.) on Saturday. Visit Shutterpaws’ website for more information.
District of Columbia
Hands Off the Arts to form ‘human chain’ around Kennedy Center
Drag performer Tara Hoot among event organizers
An organization called Hands Off the Arts has announced it is holding a protest on Friday, Sept. 18, in which between 400 and 800 participants are expected to create a “human chain” around the Kennedy Center to voice their strong objection to President Donald Trump’s call for possibly demolishing the Kennedy Center.
“Hands Off the Arts is organizing a rally Sept. 18 against the president’s defacing of JFK’s memorial, his removal and censorship of art, and the threat to demolish the center if he can’t remake the site in his image,” a statement released by the group says.
The statement says the event will start with a rally at 6:30 p.m. on the Kennedy Center steps and culminate with a “human chain” around the building. “There will be musical performances, testimonials from current and former employees, along with other special guest speakers,” it says
A separate announcement by the group says longtime D.C. drag performer Tara Hoot, who has performed at the Kennedy Center in past years, was among the organizers of the Sept. 18 protest.
The planned protest follows Trump’s decision last year to use his authority to replace the existing members of the Kennedy Center’s board of directors with new members loyal to him. Over the objection of longtime Kennedy Center supporters, the Trump-appointed board changed the name of the center, at Trump’s request, from the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts to the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
But following the threat of legal action by opponents who pointed out that the name change could not be legally made unless approved by Congress, the name change was cancelled, with Trump saying he would take steps to restore it later.
The Washington Post, meanwhile, reports in a Sept. 13 news story that because of negative publicity related to Trump’s actions, the Kennedy Center was facing “fiscal collapse” and possible bankruptcy and could be forced to shut down as early as this week.
According to the Post report, a 57-page document presented to the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees says the center was facing a financial and structural building crisis, with the recent collapse of part of the building’s inside ceiling, indicating the building was unsafe for employees and the public. Among other things, the document says the Kennedy Center may not be able to make payroll or pay for routine maintenance “within a matter of weeks,” the Post reports.
Some LGBTQ advocates were among those who joined others in boycotting the Kennedy Center to express their objections to Trump’s actions, including a statement by Trump that he objected to the Kennedy Center’s practice of hosting drag performances.
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington has been among the LGBTQ performing arts groups and artists that have performed at the Kennedy Center.
“With the future still very much uncertain, now more than ever, the Center needs you to stand up for freedom of expression and against authoritarian overreach into arts and culture institutions,” the Hands Off the Arts group says in its announcement of the Hands Around the Kennedy Center protest.
“You have the opportunity to make a difference — show up with Hands Off the Arts and show your power as part of Hands Around the Kennedy Center,” it says.
A spokesperson for the Kennedy Center couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
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