The brief federal criminal trial last month of Sean Dunn, the man who threw a “submarine-style sandwich” at a Customs and Border Protection officer in downtown Washington, D.C., was only a misdemeanor case. But the courtroom was filled, and the overflow room was crowded, too.

The 12 jurors didn’t realize initially that Dunn’s case — and their verdict — would garner national attention.

One juror thought the deliberations would last under an hour. The juror, a longtime resident of Washington, D.C., also noted that some people in the courtroom struggled to “keep a straight face” during the trial and even laughed openly. 

“It seemed to me like an open and closed type of thing,” another juror said.  “It was kind of ridiculous.” 

Dunn hurled the sandwich at the CBP officer stationed at a busy intersection in August. The incident was widely publicized and quickly became a symbol of resistance against President Trump’s federal policing crackdown and National Guard deployment in the nation’s capital. 

After roughly seven hours of deliberation, the jury acquitted Dunn. It was the second time a group of D.C. citizens rejected the Justice Department’s claim that Dunn, who was fired from his job at the Justice Department after the incident, had committed a crime in tossing a sandwich at a federal agent. A separate grand jury had rejected the prosecutors’ request to indict Dunn on a felony charge earlier this year. 

Inside the jury room

Three jurors who sat on the panel spoke with CBS News about the deliberations, revealing how the politically charged case played out behind closed doors in the jury room of the E. Barrett Prettyman federal courthouse in Washington, D.C., near the U.S. Capitol.

All asked to remain anonymous. A court order from the chief judge of the D.C. U.S. District Court prohibits CBS News and other media outlets from publishing the jurors’ names.

The jurors described an initial 10-2 split on the 12-person panel. The deliberations were not as simple as some of them had expected.

The majority of jurors thought the incident did not merit criminal charges, or that criminal intent was not proven, according to two of the members of the panel. One juror told CBS News, “I thought we’d be out of there quickly. This case had no ‘grounding.’ He threw a sandwich at the agent because he knew it wouldn’t hurt. A reasonable person wouldn’t think a sandwich is a weapon.”

A second juror, who told CBS News this was not her first time serving on a D.C. jury, said the panel eventually “agreed that this is not and should not have been a federal case.”   

The jurors said the two initial holdouts worried that a not guilty verdict would send a message that it’s sometimes acceptable to throw things at federal agents.    

The two jurors told CBS News that the jury debated at length about the type of “criminal intent” that needed to have been demonstrated by prosecutors.  

One juror said, “We asked each other: If we only look at this case, can someone really do harm to someone wearing a ballistic vest by throwing a sandwich?”

One of the jurors also credited the “gentle and patient” foreperson with coming up with a productive communications strategy during deliberations.

A juror who spoke with CBS News by phone was surprised to be assigned to the case, because the juror had heard about the prior rejection by a grand jury of Sean Dunn’s felony case.

“I was surprised some of the other jurors were unfamiliar with it,” the juror said, noting the headlines generated by Dunn’s arrest and the video of the sandwich toss in August.

Though the case was a misdemeanor, without the prospect of a lengthy prison term for conviction, one juror said she noticed an unusual tension in the proceedings at trial.  

“There seemed to be a lot of back and forth between lawyers and the judge to begin with. I’ve been on a jury before, and that hasn’t happened,” she said. “So, that kind of stood out to me.”

The notoriety of Dunn’s case and the political tensions surrounding the Trump administration’s deployment of federal agents on the streets in D.C., added a unique stress on the jurors. Three told CBS News they’re worried about being publicly identified and facing the prospect of threats or harassment.

“We were very scared and nervous about what this meant for us,” one juror said.    

The same juror, who was familiar with the case before she was selected, said she thought Dunn looked “really sad and desperate at the defense table because he was going up against the U.S. government.”

One juror noted one witness and some attorneys in the room appeared to “giggle” or fight to keep a “straight face” during some of the testimony. 

“I mean,” the juror said, “it was a thrown sandwich.”

Washington State coach Jimmy Rogers has agreed to a six-year deal to become the next coach at Iowa State, the school announced Friday.

Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard moved quickly to replace departing coach Matt Campbell, who agreed to an eight-year deal to take over Penn State on Friday, and landed Rogers, a proven winner at the FCS level who just concluded his first regular season at Washington State.

“Jimmy Rogers is a rising star in college athletics who has very strong ties to the Midwest both as a player and as a coach,” Pollard said in a statement. “He has been on my short-list ever since the first time I met him. He immediately impressed me with his interest in Iowa State University and told me during our first visit several years ago that he wanted to be the next head coach at Iowa State.

“Since our initial meeting, I have stayed in close contact with him and have been very impressed with his work ethic and understanding of what it takes to be successful at Iowa State,” Pollard added. “He is a proven winner who has demonstrated throughout his career that he will fit our culture.”

Rogers, 38, has a 33-9 record over three seasons as a head coach. He went 6-6 in his debut season at Washington State after overseeing a significant roster rebuild following the departure of coach Jake Dickert to Wake Forest.

“My family and I are excited to be joining the Iowa State University community and the Cyclone football program,” Rogers said in a statement. “Iowa State has been one of the nation’s top programs for the last decade and we look forward to building upon its upward trajectory. I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity that Jamie Pollard has given me to lead the Cyclones.”

Rogers previously spent 12 years at South Dakota State and led his alma mater to an FCS national championship in 2023 with a 15-0 season in his first year as the Jackrabbits’ head coach after taking over for longtime coach John Stiegelmeier.

Rogers carried a 29-game win streak into his second year as coach and achieved a No. 3 finish in 2024 with a run to the FCS playoff semifinals and a 12-3 season.

The Jackrabbits also won the FCS national championship in 2022 after Rogers was elevated to being the team’s sole defensive coordinator, and they played for another FCS title in 2020.

Campbell, the winningest coach in Iowa State history with 72 victories, led the Cyclones to eight winning seasons during his decade at the helm and two appearances in the Big 12 championship game.

The Cyclones went 8-4 this season and are awaiting their bowl selection on Sunday.

By News Office
December 4, 2025

William C. Dudley, president of Washington and Lee University, has been named the sixth president of Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California. He will complete the current academic year at W&L and begin his new role on July 1, 2026.

In a personal announcement to the W&L community on Dec. 5, President Dudley noted that 2026 would mark his 10^th Commencement at Washington and Lee. He praised the students, faculty and staff, noting that “I take pride in leaving Washington and Lee in a strong position, and in knowing that our exceptionally talented students, faculty, and staff will continue to advance our educational mission long after I am gone. Each of you plays a part in making the university the best it can be for current students. And all of you seize opportunities to strengthen the university for future generations. If you do those things every day and take stock once a decade, it is gratifying to consider what we have accomplished.”

Wali Bacdayan, Rector of Washington and Lee’s Board of Trustees, said the Board will engage a nationally recognized search firm to assist the University in conducting a search process that includes input from students, faculty, staff, and alumni of the university. Details on the search will be announced in the coming weeks.

“Will has been an exceptional leader for Washington and Lee for almost a decade,” said Bacdayan. “From the moment he stepped on campus, he has exhibited a deep appreciation for W&L’s culture and distinctive strengths, which are encapsulated in the strategic plan that he developed in concert with the Board of Trustees and campus community. His commitment to expanding access and affordability was realized through Bill Miller’s extraordinary $132 million gift, which made the university need-blind in undergraduate admissions. He was also instrumental in expanding student opportunities, curricular programs, and campus facilities. Will is leaving W&L in a position of strength, and we are grateful for his dedication and service.”

As president of Washington and Lee, Dudley initiated a comprehensive strategic planning process to build on the university’s strengths while furthering initiatives in support of W&L’s aspiration to be a national model for liberal arts education in the 21st century. In 2024, the University launched the largest fundraising campaign in its history, Leading Lives of Consequence, with a $650 million goal. The campaign has raised over $568 million to date and is ahead of schedule for a successful conclusion in June 2027.

Throughout his tenure at W&L, Dudley prioritized student access, affordability, and opportunity, implementing need-blind undergraduate admissions and boosting enrollment among first-generation, low-income, and rural student populations. The university expanded financial support for faculty-mentored research and study abroad and enhanced its curriculum with new minors in data science, entrepreneurship, legal studies, and arts management, and the creation of the DeLaney Center for the study of Southern race relations, culture, and politics. Critical facilities added to the campus include the Duchossois Athletic and Recreation Center; the new academic building for the Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics; the Lindley Center for Student Wellness; and the Harte Center for Teaching and Learning. Plans are underway for a new Admissions and Financial Aid center, an institutional history museum, and an expanded and renovated science center.

Dudley became the 27th president of Washington and Lee in January 2017, after serving for five years as the provost of his alma mater, Williams College. In that role, he oversaw academic operations, allocated college resources, and helped to establish priorities for Teach It Forward: The Campaign for Williams, which raised more than $750 million.

A respected leader in higher education, Dudley currently serves on the boards of the Annapolis Group of Liberal Arts Colleges, the Associated Colleges of the South, and the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges.  He received a gubernatorial appointment to the board of trustees of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in 2010 and served as the vice-chair in 2015-16.

Dudley earned a B.A. in mathematics and philosophy, magna cum laude, from Williams College in 1989, where he was captain of the water polo team, a member of the swim team, and the recipient of a Herchel Smith Fellowship to study at Cambridge University from 1989 to 1990. Dudley worked for AES from 1990 to 1992 before pursuing graduate studies at Northwestern University, where he earned an M.A. and a Ph.D. in philosophy.

His scholarship focuses on 19th-century German philosophy. Dudley is the author of two books — “Understanding German Idealism” (2007) and “Hegel, Nietzsche and Philosophy: Thinking Freedom” (2002) — the editor of volumes on Kant and Hegel, and has published numerous scholarly articles. He received fellowships in support of his research from the American Council of Learned Societies and the Humboldt Foundation.

Dudley joined the Williams College faculty in 1998, teaching courses on moral and political philosophy, metaphysics and epistemology, the philosophy and economics of higher education, and the spiritual significance of sports. At W&L, he teaches an annual seminar on virtue ethics and liberal arts education.

“Washington and Lee is an extraordinary university, with tremendous momentum,” said Dudley. “It has been my honor and pleasure to serve as the president. I treasure my relationships with W&L students, faculty, staff, alumni, and parents, and I am thankful for the opportunity to be part of this exceptional place.”