Federal police arrested a Washington woman on Thursday and charged her with assault for allegedly spitting on Ed Martin, the then-acting chief prosecutor for the nation’s capital who was appointed by President Trump.
Earlier this month, Emily Gabriella Sommer, 32 confronted Mr. Martin, the acting U.S. attorney for Washington, during an interview with journalists outside of his office in Northwest Washington. Ms. Sommer, who was walking a dog on a leash, approached Mr. Martin, asked him “Who are you?” using an expletive, and then spat on him. As she walked away, she told Mr. Martin “You are a disgusting man.”
Later that evening, a social media account — “@EmilyGabriellaS” with the username “leftits” — then repeatedly confronted Mr. Martin in the replies to his social media posts, mocking him and claiming responsibility for the incident.
Mr. Martin stepped down from his position as the interim U.S. attorney earlier this month after it became clear his work for Jan. 6 rioters would stop him from getting confirmed by the Senate. He is now the self-described “captain” of the Justice Department’s “weaponization” group, among other roles, leading President Trump’s campaign to carry out retribution against his perceived enemies. He often appeared to do just that in his role as the top prosecutor in Washington, and it was one of the obstacles in his ultimately doomed path to Senate confirmation to be the capital’s permanent U.S. attorney.
According to the criminal complaint submitted in federal court, U.S. marshals interviewed a witness at Ms. Sommer’s home, who identified her as the person who spat on Mr. Martin. In a statement on Thursday, the Justice Department announced that they had arrested and charged Ms. Sommer with one count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding a government official.
Although spitting is considered a form of assault in most U.S. jurisdictions, prosecutors do not usually pursue assault cases for spitting unless there is some aggravating circumstance. In 2020, for example, a New York woman was charged with assault of a federal employee for spitting on a postal worker and claiming to have been infected with the coronavirus. A study published in “Forensic Science International” in 2021 found that “spitting is generally considered more of a nuisance than a truly violent act,” adding that one of the exceptions would be potential exposure to an infectious disease.
Chris Cameron is a Times reporter covering Washington, focusing on breaking news and the Trump administration.
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