DOGE’s “Big Balls” Was Beaten Up—and Now Musk Wants to Federalize D.C.
Elon Musk is using the bloody attack on Edward Coristine to call for a federal takeover of the District.

DOGE staffer Edward Coristine, a.k.a. “Big Balls,” was jumped in Washington, D.C., earlier this week—and his former boss, Elon Musk, is using the attack to call for a federal takeover of the District.
The billionaire wrote that Coristine heroically stopped “a gang of about a dozen young men” from assaulting a woman in her car at night. He said that Coristine ran over to defend the woman and saved her in spite of being “severely beaten to the point of concussion.” Musk ended his retelling by calling for the federal government to take control of D.C.
Trump used the attack on Big Balls to echo the same goal, calling for the federal takeover of D.C. and the mass criminalization of mostly working-class Black and Latino children.
“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.… 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,” Trump wrote Tuesday on Truth Social. “Washington, D.C., must be safe, clean, and beautiful for all Americans and, importantly, for the World to see. 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 Metropolitan Police Department’s report states that officers saw a group of around 10 young people surrounding and assaulting Coristine. He told police that he had pushed his “significant other” into the car as they were being surrounded. Two 15-year-old suspects were detained and charged with unarmed carjacking.
Fearmongering is a common tactic for Trump and other conservatives, especially around events like these. But Washington, D.C.’s unique nonstate status has emboldened the president, as he has hinted at taking over the city countless times before. Everyone deserves to feel safe in the city they live in, but Big Balls getting jumped is not a valid excuse to start rounding up kids and revoking the little autonomy the city has.
This article has been updated to more accurately reflect the police report about the attack.