The attack on a young engineer on Sunday morning prompted the American president to renew his threat of federal takeover of Washington, in the grip, according to him to an explosive delinquency.
After sending the National Guard to Los Angeles during the riots, Donald Trump would be tempted to repeat … But this time in Washington, the capital. According to him, delinquency is such that “Taking control” by the federal state of this city, which he describes as«horrible»will soon become essential. What triggered this new declaration is none other than an assault on Sunday morning, of which an eminent member of the Department of Government efficiency (DOGE) was victim, less than 3 kilometers from the White House.
This Monday, August 5, Donald Trump published on Truth Social a photo of a young blond, shirtless man, lying in the street in blood. He denounces in legend the random attacks committed by bands of young people on“Innocent victims”. If he does not specify the circumstances of the incident, a police report which was made public, says that this man named Edward Coristine was in the company of his partner near his car, when ten young people approached them. The young man would have encouraged his girlfriend to enter the vehicle, while the group began to surround him. He would then have been violently attacked.
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The authorities said that police officers, on the patrol in this district of Logan Circle, interrupted the assault. They took the opportunity to stop two 15 -year -old minor suspects, a boy and a girl from Maryland. The latter were charged with not armed car flight. The other people involved are still wanted by the police.
Close links with Elon Musk
According to several American media, the victim, Edward Coristine is a 19 -year -old software engineer, known under his online nickname, “Big Balls”, and, for a time, a member of the Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE). He would have worked in particular to dismantle the American USAID development agency at the start of the year. After having exercised various functions in the federal government, the newspaper says that the young man is now working on social security. Elon Musk reported this assault on his X account, saying that the young man was “Severely beaten to the point of undergoing a concussion”. Last May, Coristine appeared by his side in a Fox News program, involving several employees of Doge.
Despite his close ties with the owner of Tesla, having occupied an important place in the Trump government before slamming the door with a meager review, Edward Coristine would not have been attacked for this reason. There is no evidence at this stage that the group knew its functions. However, it is certainly because of his relative notoriety, that Donald Trump reacted, using this event to denounce rampant delinquency in the American capital. According to him, the crime rate is now there “Out of control”largely caused by “Young locals and gang members, 14, 15 or 16 years old for some”.
“It’s time to federalize Washington DC”
The American president was quick to draw conclusions from this case. “If DC does not come out quickly, we will have no choice but to take federal control of the city”he said on Truth Social. Elon Musk spoke in the same direction on X. “It’s time to federalize Washington DC”he wrote. This threat of a “Take of control” From the metropolis is an antiphon Trumpist. He had mentioned it from the first weeks of his mandate and even took some measures to restrict Washington’s autonomy. Last March, the president signed a decree called “DC Safe and Beautiful” (to make DC sure and magnificent)aimed at strengthening the application of federal law in Washington. For his part, the democratic mayor of the capital, Muriel E. Bowser undergoes pressures from the government. To maintain its federal funding, the town hall ordered the demolition of a Black Lives Matter place, painted in tribute to the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
The American capital benefits from a fragile autonomy, given to it by a law of 1973. Under this law on local autonomy, the city retains its own local government with a mayor and a municipal council. However, the Congress retains the supreme authority and can cancel local laws. He could even theoretically decide on the repeal of this autonomy of the city, dating from 52 years.