A woman who aggressively confronted the former acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia earlier this month has been arrested and charged with assault after she was caught on video spitting on him during a sidewalk interview.
District of Columbia resident Emily Gabriella Sommer, 32, was arrested Thursday in Washington and charged with assaulting a federal official, which carries a maximum of 20 years in prison. The incident occurred on May 8 as then-acting U.S. Attorney Ed Martin was speaking to a reporter outside his office, according to a deputy U.S. Marshal’s affidavit.
Video footage cited in the affidavit shows Sommer approaching Martin, swearing at him, calling him “a disgusting man,” and spitting on his left shoulder before yelling, “My name is Emily Gabriella Sommer, and you are served,” and walking away.
The encounter happened the same day President Donald Trump withdrew Martin’s nomination to lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia on a permanent basis. Martin faced bipartisan Senate resistance after a tumultuous stint overseeing the high-profile office, including internal shake-ups in politically sensitive cases and controversial remarks defending Jan. 6 defendants.
Authorities said Sommer later appeared to claim responsibility for the spitting incident in a post on X replying to Martin, from an account with the display name “Lefttits.”
EX-DC US ATTORNEY SPAT ON DURING INTERVIEW AFTER TRUMP PULLED NOMINATION
The prosecution is now being handled by Martin’s successor, Jeanine Pirro, the former Fox News host named to succeed Martin in an interim capacity earlier this month. Pirro’s name, not Martin’s, appears in the signature block of a recent court filing related to Sommer’s case. Sommer does not have an attorney listed in court records.
Martin is now working as the director of the Justice Department’s Weaponization Working Group, which aims to combat instances of improper law enforcement conduct, and as the DOJ pardon attorney.
