Former Department of Government Efficiency employee Edward Coristine, the 19-year-old nicknamed “Big Balls,” was the federal staffer who was attacked in Washington, D.C., according to a report.
President Donald Trump shared a photo of the bloodied former DOGE worker on Truth Social Tuesday and said crime was “out of control” in D.C.
The president did not name Coristine on social media, but the teenager hired by Elon Musk was the victim of the attack referenced by Trump, according to a Metropolitan Police Department report obtained by the New York Post.
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 8 thugs near Dupont Circle,” Elez said in a post on X. “Violence like this in the heart of D.C. is completely unacceptable.”
Coristine was with an unnamed woman in downtown D.C. Sunday when a group of juveniles approached their car, according to the police report. They made “a comment about taking the vehicle,” according to the Post.
“At that point, for her safety, [Coristine] pushed his significant other … into the vehicle and turned to deal with the suspects,” the report continued.
The suspects started to assault Coristine, he told officers. Police were patrolling the area, about a mile away from the White House, when they noticed “a group of approximately 10 juveniles” surrounding Coristine’s vehicle and assaulting him.
Most of the group fled on foot after police swooped, but they arrested two 15-year-olds, a male and a female, from nearby Hyattsville, Maryland. The pair was charged with unarmed carjacking, according to the Post.
Coristine’s iPhone 16, worth $1,000, was reportedly stolen during the attack.
“Somebody from DOGE was very badly hurt last night,” Trump said Tuesday. “A young man who was beat up by a bunch of thugs in D.C. And either they’re gonna straighten their act out in terms of government and in terms of protection of we’re gonna have to federalize.”
The Independent has contacted the White House and the Social Security Administration, where Coristine now works, for comment.
Musk also posted about the incident on X but 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.”
Coristine claimed to have caught the eye of the world’s richest man after simply changing his name on LinkedIn to “Big Balls.”
He left his role with DOGE shortly after Musk left government in June. Coristine has since landed a new role at the Social Security Administration.
“Edward Coristine joined the Social Security Administration this week as a special government employee,” spokesperson Stephen McGraw previously said.
“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.”
