The acquittal of Sean Dunn, also known as "Sandwich Guy," on Thursday came as a welcome "act of resistance" to President Donald Trump's takeover of Washington, D.C. Slate's legal analysts Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern discussed on Friday.

Chatting on the "Amicus" podcast, the experts called it "one of the greatest acts of resistance to the regime that you could imagine."

In many ways, the case became emblematic of the D.C. "takeover," which began in August, flooding the streets with federal agents and National Guard soldiers under the guise of reducing crime, they argued.

During the "occupation," U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro tried to throw the book at D.C. residents for minor infractions. Grand juries refused to hand her the indictments she sought. Still, the Justice Department filed lower-level federal charges against Dunn for slinging a footlong sandwich at "point-blank range" at a CPB officer wearing a bulletproof vest. The officer complained on the stand that it made his uniform smell bad.

"Before we get into jury nullification, I want to make a couple of points," Lithwick prefaced. "First of all, as a rule, Mark and I are not generally for throwing sandwiches. Let’s not do that. Second, this comes the same week that voting proves to still be salient and doable. And I do see this as a story about one person standing up and saying, to quote last week’s show, that he’s not waiting for a postcard inviting him to resist. This prosecution was, as you say, obscene overreach, and in some sense, that’s the story to tell."

The problem, they explained, is that even the lower charge, a misdemeanor, was an overreach. Dunn was alleged to have "forcibly assaulted, resisted, opposed, impeded, intimidated, or interfered" with federal officers "while engaged in or on account of the performance of official duties."

Stern wrote on Bluesky that in many ways, the furious residents of the federalized city found a unique way to fight back.

"D.C. doesn't have statehood. We don't have voting representation in Congress. We have limited home rule that can be taken away any time. When Trump oppresses us, we have few democratic means of fighting back," he said.

This trial was one of those means.

Listen to the full podcast here.