> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://hyperallergic.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Sub-versive DC Protester Becomes Memeorable - URL: https://hyperallergic.com/sub-versive-dc-protester-becomes-memeorable/ - Published: 2025-08-18T17:17:12.000Z - Updated: 2025-11-24T16:19:51.000Z - Description: Tributes to the “hero with a hero” who flung a Subway sandwich at a federal agent have emerged across the nation’s capital and online. - Author: Hrag Vartanian - Tags: News, Memes, Washington DC, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 09:41 (2025) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2025/08/subway-lead.jpg) Top: Mural at Dupont Circle North Metro Station in Washington, DC, pays homage to the man who threw a subway at a federal agent. (photo courtesy Ian Livingston); bottom: Stills from an FBI video of Sean Charles Dunn flinging the sub (images via [X](https://x.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/1955980832998350883?ref=hyperallergic.com), all screenshots *Hyperallergic*) 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](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/16/west-virginia-national-guard-troops-dc-trump?ref=hyperallergic.com) 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. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2025/08/gettyimages-2229762408.jpg) A protester holds up a loaf of bread in front of the White House on August 16, 2025\. (photo by Dominic Gwinn/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images) 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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower%5FThrower?ref=hyperallergic.com)” (aka “Love Is in the Air”), which [first appeared](https://hyperallergic.com/589021/banksy-flower-thrower-trademark/) 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](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Flower-Thrower?ref=hyperallergic.com). 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. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2025/08/subway5.jpg) Online, memes give a whole new meaning to "subway artist." (screenshot via @pauljholden.com on [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/pauljholden.com/post/3lwmkpbvubc2x?ref=hyperallergic.com)) 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](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/14/dc-sandwich-thrower-justice-department?ref=hyperallergic.com) with felony assault after throwing a Subway sandwich at a federal agent in Washington, DC, and 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](https://x.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/1955980832998350883?ref=hyperallergic.com), has sparked controversy and memes as Americans loudly debate the use of federal law enforcement in the city. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2025/08/subway3.jpg) (screenshot via @pinkfloydlarson on [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/pinkfloydlarson.bsky.social/post/3lwltupencr2o?ref=hyperallergic.com)) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2025/08/subway6.jpg) (screenshot via @frinkenstick on [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/frinkenstick.bsky.social/post/3lwetunjl5s2h?ref=hyperallergic.com)) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2025/08/subway4.jpg) (screenshot via @ennuimageddon on [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/ennuimageddon.bsky.social/post/3lwh3zljro22c?ref=hyperallergic.com)) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2025/08/subway7.jpg) (screenshot via @AllinghamDean on [X](https://x.com/AllinghamDean/status/1956094851109544248?ref=hyperallergic.com)) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2025/08/subway2-1.jpg) (screenshot via @vtdragon on [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/vtdragon.bsky.social/post/3lwmrhxktqk27?ref=hyperallergic.com)) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2025/08/subway1.jpg) (screenshot via @noahtensionspan on [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/noahtensionspan.bsky.social/post/3lw7bh6ldq223?ref=hyperallergic.com))