Photo: Alamy
President Donald Trump called out crime issues in Washington, D.C., and threatened to federalize the area after DOGE staffer Edward Coristine, also known as “Big Balls,” was beaten defending his girlfriend from a group of carjackers.
The 47th president posted to TruthSocial onTuesday, stating, “Crime in Washington, D.C., is 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.”
He described how criminals do not fear punishment in Washington, D.C., and noted Coristine’s experience. He then threatened to federalize the nation’s capital.
“If D.C. doesn’t get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City, and run this City how it should be run, and put criminals on notice that they’re not going to get away with it anymore,” he declared.
He sympathized with Coristine and other victims of Washington, D.C. violence and added, “If this continues, I am going to exert my powers, and FEDERALIZE this City.”
According to the New York Post, the Metropolitan Police Department’s incident report alleged that a group of juveniles made a comment about taking Coristine’s vehicle while the DOGE staffer and his girlfriend were in downtown Washington, D.C.
“At that point, for her safety, [Coristine] pushed his significant other … into the vehicle and turned to deal with the suspects,” the report went on, noting that Corristine was then assaulted.
Police patrolling the area spotted “a group of approximately ten juveniles surrounding the complainants’ vehicle and assaulting [Coristine].”
Crime in Washington, D.C. has been an issue in recent years. Although crime dropped to 27.3 per 100,000 in 2024, the Heritage Foundation reported that “If D.C. were a state, it would have the highest homicide rate of any state in the United States, and would be retaining that dubious title year after year.”
The Heritage Foundation examined the lack of criminal prosecutions compared to arrests and found that between 2018 and 2022, about one-third of arrests involving carrying a firearm without a license went uncharged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and roughly another third of arrests were closed without a conviction.
That leaves only about one-third of criminal arrests that include criminals who carry a gun without a license, resulting in some form of punishment, likely increasing crime while lowering crime statistics.
President Trump is now considering federalizing Washington, D.C., to gain control over the situation.
