President Donald Trump and Elon Musk expressed anger Tuesday after two 15-year-olds charged in connection with the assault of former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer Edward Coristine — known publicly as “Big Balls” — were spared jail time.
Associate Judge Kendra Briggs of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia issued the verdict, which has drawn strong reactions from both political and public figures.
In August, Coristine was assaulted during an attempted carjacking in Washington, D.C.’s Logan Circle neighborhood while accompanied by a woman. Police arrested two 15-year-olds who fled the scene shortly after the attack.
In response, President Donald Trump declared it was “time to federalize D.C.” and deployed National Guard troops throughout the city. He has since sought to extend that approach to other Democratic-led cities, including Chicago and Portland, though those efforts have encountered legal challenges.
On Tuesday, Briggs, a Biden appointee, sentenced the two juveniles to probation after they pleaded guilty to simple assault. The male defendant received 12 months of probation and was ordered to home confinement, while the female defendant received nine months of probation and was placed in a youth shelter.
Both were prohibited from contacting each other and from entering the District of Columbia except for school, work, or family obligations.
According to local outlet WUSA9, Briggs said she hoped the two 15-year-olds would take the experience as a lesson, emphasizing that the primary goal of the juvenile justice system is rehabilitation rather than punishment.
Trump responded to the lenient sentences outside the White House.
“They beat the hell out of this guy. There was many people against this one guy, who was really trying to protect his girlfriend,” he said, adding: “Wow, that’s terrible. I think the judge should be ashamed of himself. That’s a big problem.”
Briggs is a female, however, Newsweek noted.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla and former head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), expressed his outrage as well.
“This was a racist verdict by a racist judge. The simple test to apply is if the races has been reversed, the White kids would be in prison. Equal justice for all!” he wrote on his X platform.
Coristine responded to the sentences as well on X, sharing a New York Post article: “To this day, they’ve only caught two out of the ten. Eight of them remain on the street. That night could’ve gone far differently. Think of your daughters and mothers. The same group attacked people before and after us, breaking ribs and stomping heads. This senseless crime must be stopped.”
The MAGA Voice account on X added: “Elon Musk just called Judge Kendra Briggs a ‘R*cist Judge’ for allowing the thugs who jumped Big Balls to escape prison time. THIS ‘JUDGE’ SHOULD BE DISBARRED. I AGREE WITH ELON.”
The Libs of TikTok account responded with similar outrage: “BREAKING: Kendra Briggs, a Biden-appointed judge, gives NO jailtime to the teens responsible for brutally attacking DOGE employee ‘Big Balls.’ The teens were instead sentenced to ONLY probation. Judge Briggs stated that her goal is to ‘rehabilitate, not to punish.’”
During an appearance on The Charlie Kirk Show on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt added: “One of the big issues in D.C. is these juveniles, they just get a slap on the wrist. This administration has a completely different philosophy. We need law and order.”
The Trump administration has made reducing violent crime a central policy focus and is expected to continue deploying National Guard troops to cities across the country. However, those efforts have faced legal challenges and pushback from Democratic state and local officials who argue the moves infringe on local authority, despite the fact that they’re not pushing for stricter enforcement of existing laws to protect residents.
