A violent D.C. attack becomes a national spectacle as Trump amplifies fear and racialized stereotypes—despite the fact the only juveniles in custody are a boy and girl from nearby Hyattsville, Maryland.
When Edward “Big Balls” Coristine, former Dogecoin executive, was brutally attacked in Washington, D.C. on August 3, the story might have been covered as a straightforward crime incident. Instead, former President Donald Trump turned it into a spectacle—leveraging the assault to reinforce racialized stereotypes, inflame political tensions, and divert attention from ongoing scrutiny over the Epstein case.
The Incident
Coristine and a female companion were targeted around 3:00 a.m. on Swann Street NW in Logan Circle by a group of roughly ten juveniles attempting a carjacking. Coristine suffered a concussion, a broken nose, and a black eye. His iPhone 16 was stolen. While police quickly intervened, only two of the juveniles—both 15-year-olds from Hyattsville, Maryland, a boy and a girl—were arrested. They were positively identified by the victims and charged with unarmed carjacking. The remaining eight suspects escaped.
Trump’s Rhetorical Spin
On his Truth Social platform, Trump posted a bloody photo of Coristine and labeled the attackers as “local thugs,” framing them as emblematic of out-of-control crime in D.C. He called for juveniles to be tried as adults and renewed his demand for a federal takeover of the District’s justice system.
The rhetoric is striking. Without releasing any confirmed information about the suspects’ race, Trump’s language taps into long-standing racialized fears about crime in urban areas, implicitly suggesting a connection to Black youth despite the fact the only two arrested were suburban Maryland teenagers. At the same time, the post functioned as a diversion. Amid ongoing media attention on the Epstein case, Trump amplified a violent story in D.C., steering coverage toward crime and juvenile offenders and away from scrutiny of his and his allies’ networks.
Media Reinforcement
Coverage by major outlets, while reporting the facts, often amplified Trump’s framing. Headlines repeatedly used charged language like “brutal attack” and “teenage thugs,” with images emphasizing the victim’s injuries. This coverage, combined with Trump’s own posts, reinforced a narrative that criminalized unnamed youths and fed into racialized assumptions about crime in D.C., even though the only teens in custody were a boy and girl from a nearby Maryland suburb.
The Maryland Connection
The Hyattsville connection complicates Trump’s framing of the assault as a “local D.C.” problem. Hyattsville is roughly five to seven miles from Logan Circle, easily reached in under 20 minutes by car or about 30–40 minutes by public transit. Suburban teens, not city residents, were in custody, yet the political messaging treated the incident as emblematic of the District’s crime problem.
The Bigger Picture
Trump’s commentary follows a familiar pattern: amplifying violent incidents to stoke racialized fears and push law-and-order narratives, often while deflecting attention from scandals that directly involve him or his associates. The juvenile offenders’ race and identity remain officially unreported, highlighting the speculative and racially coded nature of Trump’s claims. Meanwhile, the other suspects remain at large, and the actual circumstances of the assault are far more complex than his posts suggest.
Framing Big Balls as a Victim
The “Big Balls” assault illustrates how political figures can manipulate crime narratives. Trump’s rapid weaponization of the incident demonstrates a clear playbook: racialized language, selective emphasis, and distraction from politically sensitive scandals. As the Epstein fallout continues, such diversions may become more frequent—using high-profile assaults, real or perceived, as fodder for political theater.
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