Trump threatens federal takeover of DC after attack on former DOGE
worker
[August 06, 2025]
By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and MIKE BALSAMO
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two 15-year-olds have been arrested in Washington in
connection with the attempted carjacking and beating of one of the most
prominent members of the Department of Government Efficiency, renewing
calls from President Donald Trump for the federal government to seize
control of the nation’s capital.
The victim, Edward Coristine, nicknamed “Big Balls,” was among the most
visible figures of Trump's DOGE, which was tasked with slashing federal
bureaucracy.
Coristine was assaulted around 3 a.m. Sunday in the city’s Logan Circle
neighborhood by a group of teenagers attempting to carjack him and a
woman whom police identified as his significant other, according to
authorities.
The Metropolitan Police Department said the group approached the
couple’s car and made a comment about taking it. Coristine pushed the
woman into the vehicle for safety and turned to confront the group. At
least several of the teens then attacked him, police said, until
officers patrolling nearby intervened. As officers moved toward the
group, the teens fled on foot.
Two 15-year-olds from Maryland were arrested on charges of unarmed
carjacking, police said.
The attack gave new fuel to long-standing Republican efforts to
challenge Washington’s autonomy, with Trump threatening to bypass local
authority and impose direct federal control over the city.
In a social media post and remarks at the White House on Tuesday, the
president described crime in Washington as “out of control."
"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," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
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President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order
about the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, in the South Court
Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White
House campus, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia
Demaree Nikhinson)
The District of Columbia has long served as a symbolic battleground in
debates over crime and governance, and its lack of statehood has made it
uniquely vulnerable to federal intervention. Republican leaders have
frequently seized on episodes of violence to portray the city as a case
study of violence in cities run by Democratic mayors, even as city
officials note that violent crime overall is down more than 25% from the
same period last year.
Still, local officials have acknowledged in recent years that youth
crime, particularly carjackings, remains a serious concern. Just last
year, a 14-year-old was charged with killing a Lyft driver in a botched
carjacking, and a significant portion of carjacking arrests in
Washington involve juveniles.
The Metropolitan Police Department said its investigation into the
attack on Coristine remains active and additional suspects are still
being sought.
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Balsamo reported from New York.
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