Former DOGE employee Edward Coristine, the 19-year-old better known by his nickname “Big Balls,” has been identified as the federal staffer who was attacked in Washington, D.C., over the weekend in an apparent attempted carjacking.
President Donald Trump shared a photo of the bloodied former DOGE worker on Truth Social Tuesday and claimed crime was “out of control” in D.C.
“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,” the president wrote.
“They are not afraid of law enforcement because they know nothing ever happens to them, but it’s going to happen now! The law in D.C. must be changed to prosecute these ‘minors’ as adults, and lock them up for a long time, starting at age 14. The most recent victim was beaten mercilessly by local thugs.”
He continued: “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.
“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. If this continues, I am going to exert my powers, and FEDERALIZE this city.”
The president’s threat to take the responsibility for law enforcement in D.C. away from the city and into the hands of the central government comes despite violent crime in the nation’s capital dropping by an impressive 35 percent in 2024.
Trump did not name Coristine in his post. Still, the teenager, who Elon Musk hired to help slash waste federal expenditure earlier this year, was the victim of the attack referenced by Trump, according to a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) report obtained by The New York Post.
Musk also posted about the incident on X but likewise did not name Coristine.
“A few days ago, a gang of about a dozen young men tried to assault a woman in her car at night in D.C.,” Musk said Tuesday.
“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. It is time to federalize D.C.”
Marko Elez, a software engineer who also worked at DOGE, before he resigned over a racist social media post, said he took the photo of his friend following the attack.
“My friend Big Balls is a hero. I took this photo after Edward protected a young woman from an attempted carjacking by eight thugs near Dupont Circle,” Elez wrote on X.
“Violence like this in the heart of D.C. is completely unacceptable.”
Coristine was with the unnamed woman in downtown D.C. at 3 am on Sunday when a group of juveniles approached their car, according to the police report of the incident.
The report explains that the suspects approached the victims standing next to the vehicle parked on the 1400 block of Swann Street and demanded that they hand it over before assaulting one of the victims.
During the attack, an MPD cruiser pulled up, prompting the attackers to flee. Two of the suspects were apprehended by the on-scene officers. At the same time, one of the victims [Coristine] was treated on scene by emergency services personnel for injuries sustained during the assault.
The pair arrested was two 15-year-olds, a male and a female, from nearby Hyattsville, Maryland. They were subsequently charged with unarmed carjacking.
Coristine’s iPhone 16, worth $1,000, was reportedly stolen during the incident.
The Independent has contacted the White House and the Social Security Administration (SSA), where Coristine now works, for comment.
Coristine claimed to have caught the eye of the world’s richest man by simply changing his name on LinkedIn to “Big Balls.”
He left his role with DOGE shortly after Musk left the government in June and quickly landed a new role with the SSA.
“Edward Coristine joined the Social Security Administration this week as a special government employee,” spokesperson Stephen McGraw said at the time he was hired.
“His work will be focused on improving the functionality of the Social Security website and advancing our mission of delivering more efficient service to the American people.”
