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Two teenagers charged in connection with an attempted carjacking and brutal beating of a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer earlier this month have been released from youth custody.
A 15-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy, who were charged with unarmed carjacking days after the attack, have been given lighter restrictions.
Since their arrest, the suspects had been held at D.C.’s Youth Services Center (YSC), where juveniles are placed in secure detention by court order. According to reports, Judge Kendra D. Briggs, who was nominated by then-President Joe Biden in 2021, ruled that one of the teens would be sent to a youth shelter while the other would be granted home arrest.
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While the teens are being released from the YSC, they are still subject to curfews, weekly drug tests and electronic monitoring, NBC4 Washington reported.
On Aug. 3, Edward Coristine, better known by his nickname, “Big Balls,” was assaulted at approximately 3:00 a.m. by a group of teenagers in the city’s Logan Circle neighborhood. The teens allegedly attempted to carjack him and a woman, whom police identified as his significant other, according to authorities.
Police said 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.
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A photo of a bloodied Coristine went viral, sparking outrage over the city’s handling of crime and drawing President Donald Trump’s attention. The president slammed D.C., saying crime in the city was “totally out of control.”
“Local ‘youths’ and gang members, some only 14, 15, and 16-years-old, are randomly attacking, mugging, maiming, and shooting innocent citizens, at the same time knowing that they will be almost immediately released. They are not afraid of Law Enforcement because they know nothing ever happens to them, but it’s going to happen now!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Briggs’ ruling comes amid a heated debate on the handling of crime in D.C. and Trump’s crime crackdown.
On Aug. 11, the president directed federal law enforcement to increase its presence in the city. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the move, saying that “there will be no safe harbor for violent criminals in D.C.”
Trump met with law enforcement and National Guard personnel on Thursday and praised them for their work and the “incredible results” of the crackdown. His approach appears to be working, as Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department confirmed to Fox News Digital that there has not been a homicide in the city in more than a week, coinciding with the takeover.
While many connected Trump’s decision to federalize D.C. to Coristine’s assault, it was a topic he touched on during his presidential campaign. He spoke about the need to better secure D.C. after the tragic January 2024 murder of Mike Gill, a Republican who worked under the Obama and Trump administrations. Gill was waiting to pick up his wife from work when an armed carjacker opened fire in broad daylight. Gill died three days later.
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