Trump threatens National Guard to DC after young staffer's attack
'We're considering it because the crime is ridiculous,' Trump told reporters. 'We have a capital that's very unsafe. You know, we just almost lost a young man, beautiful, handsome guy that got the hell knocked out of him the night before last. I'm going to call him now.'
The young man Trump referenced is Edward Coristine (pictured), a 19-year-old government worker affectionately dubbed 'Big Balls' by his colleagues. Coristine was violently beaten during an attempted carjacking near Dupont Circle around 3am Sunday, while defending his girlfriend from a group of teenage assailants. Two 15-year-olds have since been arrested in connection with the attack, which left Coristine hospitalized with a concussion and facial injuries.
The case has quickly become the focus for Trump's broader campaign to dismantle what he calls 'Democrat chaos' in the capital. 'There's too much of it,' Trump said. 'We're going to do something about it… and that includes bringing in the National Guard - maybe very quickly.' Trump, who returned to the White House for a second term pledging to 'crush the deep state' and restore 'law and order,' has repeatedly portrayed Washington, DC, as a lawless zone of crime and dysfunction. 'We want to have a great, safe capital - and we're going to have it,' he said. 'That includes cleanliness, it includes other things… graffiti, roads that are in bad shape, medians that are falling down. We're going to beautify the city.'
The remarks come just days after Trump posted an image of Coristine with blood running down his face, writing on Truth Social that D.C. crime was 'out of control' and that teenage criminals were 'randomly attacking, mugging, maiming, and shooting innocent citizens.' 'They are not afraid of law enforcement because they know nothing ever happens to them, but it's going to happen now!' Trump warned. Coristine, who became known as 'Big Balls' for his outspoken fearlessness during late-night brainstorming sessions with Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has become an unexpected symbol of the administration's push to remake the capital. 'My friend Big Balls is a hero,' wrote close friend Marko Elez on X, sharing a photo of Coristine after the assault. 'He protected a young woman from an attempted carjacking by 8 thugs near Dupont Circle. 'Violence like this in the heart of DC is completely unacceptable,' Elez added.
Even Elon Musk, under whom Coristine once worked as part of DOGE's original design team weighed in online. 'A Doge team member saw what was happening, ran to defend her and was severely beaten to the point of concussion, but he saved her,' Musk wrote. 'It is time to federalize DC.' Coristine, whose boyish face and Ivy League pedigree belied his MAGA bulldog persona, previously appeared in a Fox News segment highlighting his work to cut federal waste. But now his injuries, sustained in what police say was an attempted robbery by a group of teenagers, have made him the face of Trump's federal crime crackdown.
While the Metropolitan Police Department confirmed it arrested two teens from Maryland in connection with the attack, but DC officials have been tight-lipped about further details. A spokesperson for the US Attorney's Office declined to confirm additional charges, citing an active investigation. Attorney General Brian Schwalb (pictured) addressed the outrage in a statement to The Daily Mail. 'No one who lives in, works in, or visits DC should experience this. It is horrific and disturbing… When MPD brings us cases with sufficient evidence of juveniles who have broken the law and hurt people, we will prosecute them and ensure they face consequences.'
But that's not good enough for Trump, or Jeanine Pirro (pictured right), his newly appointed U.S. Attorney for the District. 'Our job is to get guns off the street, drugs off the street, and take care of those individuals that are threatening and carjacking other people,' Pirro said in a video message from the White House. 'And that's just what we're going to do. If you don't buy into it, you're going to have to deal with us.' The episode has reignited long-simmering Republican calls to strip Washington, D.C., of its autonomy, or at least curtail it dramatically.
Trump allies in Congress have already proposed legislation to repeal home rule and bring the capital under full federal control. That effort is certain to face resistance from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who h as not commented publicly on Coristine's assault but has in the past fiercely defended the city's right to govern itself. While violent crime in the capital is reportedly down more than 25% from this time last year, carjackings and juvenile involvement in violent incidents remain stubbornly high. Just last year, a 14-year-old was charged with the killing of a Lyft driver in another high-profile carjacking. 'The rate of crime, the rate of muggings, killings, and everything else - we're not going to let it continue,' Trump asserted. 'You're going to be safe walking down streets. You're not going to get mugged.'
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