WASHINGTON (AP) — Two more suspects have been charged with the attempted carjacking and beating of a 19-year-old man who was working for the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency — a crime that was a catalyst for the White House’s law-enforcement surge in the nation’s capital.
Laurence Cotton-Powell, 19, and Anthony Taylor, 18, were arrested last week on charges stemming from the Aug. 3 attack on Edward Coristine, a prominent DOGE employee nicknamed “Big Balls.” Two 15-year-old suspects from Maryland previously were charged with, convicted of and sentenced for Coristine’s beating.
“This case underscores the escalating challenges that we face in confronting crime in Washington, D.C.,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said at a news conference on Monday.
Coristine was walking a woman to her car in the city’s Logan Circle neighborhood when he was attacked by a group of teenagers who repeatedly punched and kicked him, authorities said. The suspects fled when they spotted a police officer nearby.
The attack on Coristine fueled President Donald Trump’s decision to flood Washington with a surge of patrols by federal agents and National Guard members.
Cotton-Powell and Taylor also are accused of participating in a separate attack and robbery of a man at a gas station shortly before they assaulted Coristine, Pirro said.
Cotton-Powell was arrested last Thursday. Taylor was arrested last Friday. Both are charged in D.C. Superior Court with attempted unarmed carjacking, robbery and assault with intent to commit a robbery.
Last Tuesday, a federal judge sentenced the two 15-year-old suspects to probation after they pleaded guilty to assaulting Coristine. Trump said it was a “terrible” decision not to incarcerate the teens.
“I think the judge should be ashamed of himself,” Trump said during an Oval Office appearance.
