Nothing outsmarts aspiring autocrats and their flunkies as much as humorous resistance, and the latest unlikely people’s hero was sporting a Subway sandwich that he famously flung at US Customs and Border Protection officers last week in Washington, DC.
The takeover of the nation’s capital by Trump-sanctioned security forces has rankled DC residents who are forced to watch the nefarious images of masked officers walking through the streets of one of the country’s wealthiest cities.
Since the incident on Sunday, August 10, images of the “hero with a hero” have emerged across DC, including in front of the Dupont Circle North Metro station. These murals and posters remix Banksy’s famous 2003 “Flower Thrower” (aka “Love Is in the Air”), which first appeared on a wall in the Palestinian town of Beit Sahour in the Occupied West Bank. The anonymous street artist is believed to have created a version of the stencil in London years earlier. The image of the flower-throwing masked man has since become a favorite of protesters who see themselves as Davids challenging governmental or corporate Goliaths.
The human hero in the most recent tributes is 37-year-old former Department of Justice employee Sean Charles Dunn, who was arrested and charged with felony assault after throwing a Subway sandwich at a federal agent in Washington, DC, after screaming “Fuck you, fascists!” and “Shame!” Assaulting a federal officer is punishable by up to eight years in prison, but since Dunn does not have a criminal record, he would not be eligible for the maximum sentence.
The incident, which was captured on video, has sparked controversy and memes as Americans loudly debate the use of federal law enforcement in the city.
