❓WHAT HAPPENED: A former member of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team was viciously assaulted by teens while attempting to stop a carjacking in Washington, D.C.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Edward “Big Balls” Coristine, President Donald J. Trump, Elon Musk, Capitol Police.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The incident occurred on August 3 at 3 AM in the Dupont Circle area of D.C.
💬KEY QUOTE: “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.” – President Donald J. Trump calling for tougher sentences for juvenile criminals
🎯IMPACT: The attack shows the ongoing criminality in the nation’s capital, renewing the possibility of President Trump federalising the city and placing it under federal government control.
Edward Coristine, a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer widely known by the nickname “Big Balls,” was reportedly assaulted by a group of about ten juveniles near Washington D.C.’s Dupont Circle around 3 AM on August 3. Police say Coristine, who the government still employs, was with a woman described in the report as his “significant other” when the confrontation occurred.
Two 15-year-olds were taken into custody while trying to flee the scene, police said. The attackers also allegedly stole a black iPhone 16 valued at approximately $1,000.
President Donald J. Trump posted an image of a shirtless and bloodied Coristine on his social media platform, Truth Social, following the incident. The photo, taken by DOGE colleague Marko Elez, shows Coristine with apparent blood on his face, torso, and pants. Trump used the post to renew his call for tougher sentencing laws for juveniles.
“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 wrote.
According to Coristine’s account to police, the group approached him and his companion outside his vehicle and made a comment indicating they intended to take it. He said he managed to get the woman into the car before the group turned violent.
Elon Musk, who previously led the DOGE initiative, commented on the incident in a post on X (formerly Twitter), offering his own version of events. “A gang of about a dozen young men tried to assault a woman in her car at night in DC,” Musk claimed. “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.”
Coristine currently works at the Social Security Administration and has previously held influential roles within DOGE. His government service has included efforts to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and roles in agencies like the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), where he contributed to initiatives such as Gold Cards.
Trump, who has often criticized crime levels in the nation’s capital, has long advocated for placing Washington, D.C. under federal control.
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