FORTUNE – Subway has been involuntarily tossed into the debate surrounding President Donald Trump’s takeover of D.C. police, after a resident threw a footlong at a federal officer last week.
Now images and merch of sandwiches have become resistance symbols. Experts tell Fortune the unlikely string of events is a case study in brand image management and crisis communication.
Subway was thrown—literally—into the spotlight after a D.C. resident and then-Justice Department employee hurled one of the sandwich chain’s footlongs at a federal officer, which became a viral moment this past week. Now, Subway may have to deal with something that’s grown beyond a single hoagie toss.
Sean Charles Dunn, the now internet-famous protestor known better as “Sandwich Guy,” was captured on video hucking a sandwich wrapped in green and yellow paper at the officer, after calling a group of agents standing outside Subway “fascists.”
The video was uploaded to Instagram on Aug. 10 and has since gone viral, with major news outlets reporting on the incident and eliciting responses from the Trump administration.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said in a video posted on X last Wednesday that Dunn would be charged with assault on a police officer, a felony that is punishable by up to eight years in prison. The following day, Attorney General Pam Bondi said in an X post that Dunn had been fired from his job at the DOJ.
“Stick your Subway sandwich somewhere else,” Pirro said in the video that has now racked up over 2 million views.
Well, Dunn hasn’t, but D.C. residents have, painting the nation’s capital with Banksy-styled portraits of Sandwich Guy, his right hand winding up, armed with a green, yellow and red footlong
RECENTLY ON HEADLINE HEALTH:
I’ve eaten Subway for decades. Today’s offering is a joyless abomination of its former glory
South Florida Subway ordered shut after rodent droppings found
