The alleged assault of a Trump Administration staffer known as “Big Balls” has led the President to threaten a federal takeover of Washington, D.C., to address what he labeled the district’s “totally out of control” crime problem.
Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday a photo of a bloodied, shirtless Edward Coristine, one of hired by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency earlier this year, asserting that he was “beaten mercilessly by local thugs.”
The 19-year-old, nicknamed for his large testicles, who previously provided “tech support to a cybercrime ring,” was appointed a special employee of the Social Security Administration in May.
Marko Elez, a fellow former DOGE staffer who, amidst controversy over racist social media posts, from the government before being quickly, stated he captured the photo of Coristine.
Two youths apprehended
As per a obtained by Wired, Coristine was reportedly assaulted by a “group of approximately 10 juveniles” early Sunday morning. According to the report, Coristine was walking with his “significant other” Emily Bryant toward their vehicle when he “observed the suspects approach and remark about taking the car.” Coristine reportedly “pushed” Bryant into the car before being beaten by the suspects. When officers patrolling the vicinity approached, the suspects fled on foot, and two were apprehended and positively identified by the victims, the report states.
The Metropolitan Police Department Tuesday that the two apprehended suspects were a 15-year-old male and a 15-year-old female, both of Hyattsville, Md. They were taken into custody and charged with unarmed carjacking.
In Trump’s post concerning the incident, he expressed dissatisfaction that minors should be prosecuted and “imprisoned” as adults. “Local ‘youths’ and gang members, some merely 14, 15, and 16 years old, are indiscriminately attacking, mugging, maiming, and shooting innocent Citizens, simultaneously aware that they will be almost instantly released. They have no fear of Law Enforcement because they know nothing ever happens to them,” he stated, “but it’s going to happen now!”
Trump advocates federalization
Trump utilized the incident to reiterate his calls for the federalization of D.C., cautioning: “If D.C. fails to get its affairs in order, and swiftly, we will have no alternative but to assume Federal control of the City, and operate this City as it should be managed, and notify criminals that they’re not going to escape consequences anymore. Perhaps it should have been done a long time ago, then this extraordinary young man, and so many others, would not have had to endure the horrors of Violent Crime. If this persists, I am going to wield my powers, and FEDERALIZE this City.”
Musk, the President’s former ally turned, also concerning the incident, concurred with Trump’s evaluation: “It is time to federalize DC.”
Crime in D.C.
Republican leaders have incidents of violence in D.C. to portray an instance of Democratic strongholds experiencing crime. (D.C.’s populace is predominantly Democratic and it has backed the Democratic ticket in every presidential election since 1964, after the 23rd Amendment enabled D.C. to take part in presidential elections.)
In 2023, D.C. registered 274 homicides, the. Carjackings also.
But latest show that crime has been diminishing. Year-to-date violent crime, as of August 5, is down 26% compared to the preceding year, and the 2024 figure decreased 35% from 2023.
The Home Rule Legislation
In a Cabinet meeting at the White House in July, Trump : “We hold immense power at the White House to administer places when necessary. We could manage D.C. I mean, we’re … examining D.C.”
Any effort to federalize the national capital, however, would necessitate the suspension or repeal of the.
Washington, D.C., was created via a political compromise as a federal district in 1790. It was formerly governed directly by Congress and federal appointees, but in 1973, Congress enacted the Home Rule Act after the district’s residents advocated for control of their own affairs.
The Act established an elected local government, including a mayor and a 13-member council, that would supervise the district’s affairs. However, according to the act, Congress still “reserves the right, at any time, to exercise its constitutional authority as legislature for the District.”
Some Republican have pushed to repeal the Home Rule Act, condemning Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser’s alleged incompetence. In February, Trump endorsed those efforts, while aboard Air Force One, “I believe we should assume control of Washington, D.C.—make it secure. People are being killed, people are being injured.”
Trump could evaluate the strength of the Republican Party’s narrow House and Senate majorities by attempting to repeal or suspend the Home Rule Act. Nevertheless, for now, the President and his associates have resorted to other methods to exert some semblance of control over D.C. In March, he issued an establishing the “D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force,” an interagency panel that would coordinate with local officials to enhance law enforcement and further beautify the district. The same month, Congress also.
“For 50 years, D.C. home rule could rely on robust defense from the White House and majority support in Congress,” former Washington Post opinion contributor Colbert I. King in February. “Even in the worst-case scenario of a D.C. home rule repeal bill passing the House, a Senate filibuster would assuredly have prevented its final passage.”
“But political dynamics have transformed,” King wrote. “The guardrails are absent.”