DC woman accused of assault for spitting on former interim US attorney for DC

A D.C. woman faces assault charges after allegedly spitting on former Interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin Jr. while he was being interviewed by Newsmax earlier this month.

Emily Gabriella Sommer, 32, was arrested and charged with one count of assaulting, resisting or impeding a government official.

Court documents said it happened in front of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the 600 block of D Street NW on May 8.

Sommer approached Martin and asked who he was while using profane language, a U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia news release said.

When he turned around, Sommer asked whether he was Ed Martin, and upon confirming his identity, “lunged at Martin and spit on his shoulder” before she walked away, yelling, cursing and identifying herself, the news release said.

(Courtesy United States Attorney for the District of Columbia)

Officers reviewed security cameras after the incident from the exterior of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and said they viewed Sommer spitting on Martin.

In a follow-up interview with Newsmax, Martin called it an “ugly scene,” adding he was “proud he had his overcoat on.”

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Valerie Bonk

Valerie Bonk started working at WTOP in 2016 and has lived in Howard County, Maryland, her entire life. She's thrilled to be a reporter for WTOP telling stories on air. She works as both a television and radio reporter in the Maryland and D.C. areas. 

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