❓WHAT HAPPENED: A Washington, D.C. judge sentenced two teens to probation after they attacked 19-year-old Edward Coristine, a former staffer for DOGE, avoiding jail time.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Edward Coristine, two 15-year-old attackers, Joe Biden-appointed Judge Kendra Biggs, and U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The attack occurred on August 3 near U Street in Washington, D.C.; sentencing took place on October 15 in D.C. Superior Court.
💬KEY QUOTE: “That’s terrible. The judge should be ashamed.” – Donald Trump
🎯IMPACT: The decision has sparked criticism over leniency for juvenile offenders and raised fresh concerns about crime in the nation’s capital.
Washington, D.C. Superior Court judge, Kendra Biggs, sentenced two 15-year-olds to probation for their roles in an attack on Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer known as “Big Balls.” The Joe Biden appointee stated that her role is to “rehabilitate,” not punish, sparking backlash over leniency.
The male defendant pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and simple assault, while the female attacker admitted to one count of simple assault for attacking another person at a gas station with pepper spray. Prosecutors dropped other charges related to the attack on Coristine as part of a plea agreement. Both teens were part of a group allegedly causing chaos along U Street in the early hours of August 3, about one mile from the White House.
President Donald J. Trump blasted the lenient decision late Wednesday, saying, “That’s terrible. The judge should be ashamed.” U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro called the sentencing “shocking.”
During the attack, Coristine was beaten while his friend managed to escape by locking themselves in a car. In a social media post, Coristine condemned the “senseless crime” and noted that many of the attackers remain unprosecuted. “Think of your daughters and mothers,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter), adding: “The same group attacked people before and after us, breaking ribs and stomping heads.”
Judge Biggs ordered the teens to perform 90 hours of community service, avoid contact with each other, and refrain from entering cars without the owner’s permission.
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