That said, this is exceptionally minor in nature, and the reason I would have decided with the majority of the jury is because the consequences that the guy already incurred as a result of his actions seem proportional to me. Additional legal consequences seem to me to be politically motivated overkill and so not acceptable.
> Assault is generally defined as an intentional act that puts another person in reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact
The latter part is what the jury and everyone disagreed about. There's no reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact from someone who is drunk, threw a sandwich at you, and ran away.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/assault
That said, this is exceptionally minor in nature, and the reason I would have decided with the majority of the jury is because the consequences that the guy already incurred as a result of his actions seem proportional to me. Additional legal consequences seem to me to be politically motivated overkill and so not acceptable.