Two 15-year-olds have been arrested and charged with the attempted carjacking and assault of a DOGE staffer in Washington, D.C., which has drawn the ire of President Donald Trump.
At 3 a.m. on Sunday, the suspects, a boy and a girl from Maryland, approached the victims, who were standing next to their vehicle in the 1400 block of Swann Street in the northwest section of the district, D.C. Metropolitan police said.
The suspects demanded the victim's vehicle and then assaulted one of the victims, police said. During the assault, an MPD cruiser pulled into the block causing the suspects to flee, police said. Two of the suspects were apprehended by the on-scene officers, police said.
Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old DOGE employee who goes by "Big Balls" was the person assaulted, according to numerous reports. He was treated on scene by D.C. fire and EMS for his injuries, police said.
Trump used a photo of a bloodied Coristine, sitting shirtless on the ground, in a post to Truth Social on Monday, warning the city's leaders to get a handle on crime.
"The most recent victim was beaten mercilessly by local thugs. … If D.C. doesn't get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City, and run this City how it should be run, and put criminals on notice that they're not going to get away with it anymore. Perhaps it should have been done a long time ago, then this incredible young man, and so many others, would not have had to go through the horrors of Violent Crime," Trump said in the post.
DOGE staffer Marko Elez took the photo of Coristine after the attack, Politico reported.
Coristine resigned from DOGE in late June, a month after former chief Elon Musk left the agency.
Musk also called on Trump to "federalize DC" in a post to X on Tuesday.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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