‘Weaponization of a sandwich’ — Subway’s footlong is becoming an icon of resistance against Trump’s D.C. police takeover

·Donald Trump‘Weaponization of a sandwich’ — Subway’s footlong is becoming an icon of resistance against Trump’s D.C. police takeoverBy Nino PaoliBy Nino PaoliNews FellowNino PaoliNews FellowNino Paoli is a Dow Jones News Fund fellow at Fortune on the News desk.SEE FULL BIO Banksy-style ‘Sandwich Guy’ posters show a tester tossing a sandwich, harkening back to last week’s viral Subway footlong incident involving a federal officer.Kevin Dietsch/Getty ImagesSubway 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

Experts tell Fortune the unly 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 testor known better as “Sandwich Guy,” was captured on hucking a sandwich wrapped in green and yellow paper at the officer, after calling a group of agents standing outside Subway “fascists.” The 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

Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said in a 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 ing 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 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

The single act of test has blossomed into a symbol of resistance against President Donald Trump’s federal law enforcement takeover

T-shirts depicting footlongs have hit Etsy, and some testors are even bringing wrapped Subway sandwiches to demonstrations outside the White House

But what happens when a large brand gets tied up in a national debate? Other well-known brands have been monitored and discussed closely by the public for cultural and political implications

In July, American Eagle came under fire for its “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” denim ad campaign that the actress saying, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring… My jeans are blue.” This month, Cracker Barrel’s logo refresh drew online criticism from restaurant patrons accusing the brand of straying from its roots and going “woke.” Experts told Fortune that Subway’s position is unique in that it didn’t incite any of the debate it’s embroiled in now

Un an ad campaign, policy change or public support of a marginalized community or cause, Subway hasn’t sparked a brand conversation of their own doing

Instead, experts said the unly string of events is a case study in brand image management due to external forces and crisis communication. “Subway didn’t choose to be in this situation,” Stacy Rosenberg, fessor of marketing at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of , told Fortune

Yet, “they do need to issue a crisis communication statement to take some level of control of the message.” Although Subway was thrown into the D.C. police takeover debate involuntarily, she said companies have to prepare for the unexpected to be able to respond in a timely manner

Subway hasn’t publicly responded to the incident yet, and didn’t respond to Fortune for

Since Aug. 10, Subway has posted routine motional material on TikTok, X and Instagram

Some of their ers have taken to the s section to further the conversation the D.C. incident

Under an Aug. 13 picture of a 6-inch, one Instagram er replied, “I’m just excited to throw them at fascists.” X users have responded to an Aug. 12 Subway rewards post with a picture of Dunn being arrested, calling for him to be the sandwich chain’s new spokesperson. “I think (Subway) is waiting it out, bably hoping not to have to” , Melissa Murphy, another marketing fessor at Carnegie Mellon, told Fortune

As social media allows for individual s to become flashpoints and viral , messaging can slip away from brands quickly

It’s Subway’s responsibility to vide a response, she said

Murphy said that one of the exercises she does with marketing students is to brainstorm “every possible thing that could go wrong,” rank them by lihood, and draft up the beginnings of public statements for the ones with the greatest chance to happen

Though a Subway sandwich throwing “may not have been on the bingo card,” it falls under a political issue affecting a brand, which is something companies have to keep in mind, she said. “If a brand isn’t prepared for that, I mean, it’s of shame on them,” Murphy said

But, others don’t think Subway needs to do anything right now. “There is a time to respond,” crisis communications expert Cindyee Harrison, CEO of Synaptic, a PR agency for small es, told Fortune. “I’m not entirely sure that that moment has arrived or will arrive for Subway.” Harrison said the brand of the sandwich thrown at the federal officer has taken a backseat in people’s minds. “It is the irony of the weaponization of a sandwich,” she said. “I think that’s the point more

So it really could have been any sandwich

It happens to be from Subway.” The sandwich becoming an iconic symbol was an organic crowd response to a viral moment, something common in today’s media and ly to pass quickly, Harrison said

If Subway potentially looks to capitalize on this heightened brand conversation online, it could come off as disingenuous, she added

Though Murphy said she’s surprised Subway hasn’t issued an official statement on the matter, she understands the sub chain doesn’t want to alienate any of their customer base. “I think it forces their hand a little bit to have an opinion,” Murphy said. “And that’s dangerous.” Introducing the 2025 Fortune Global 500, the definitive ranking of the biggest companies in the world

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