Trump Condemns Lack of Jail Time for Teenagers Who Assaulted DOGE Staffer

Other officials also criticized the development.

President Donald Trump, with FBI Director Kash Patel (L) listening, speaks in Washington on Oct. 15, 2025. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

President Donald Trump and other administration officials on Oct. 15 criticized the lack of jail time for teenagers who admitted to assaulting a federal worker.

“That’s terrible,” Trump said in response to a question during an Oval Office appearance with top officials to discuss his administration’s crime-fighting initiatives. “The judge should be ashamed of themselves.”

Trump said he heard the case against the teenagers was flawless.

With the outcome, he predicted that they would grow up, “be real bad, and cause a lot of problems.”

Edward Coristine, 19, was assaulted by multiple people in Washington on Aug. 4. Photographs showed Coristine, who worked at the time for the Department of Government Efficiency, bloodied and bruised.

Trump condemned the assault at the time and soon after sent National Guard personnel to Washington to boost public safety.

He has also called on Washington, which is run by a city council and mayor, to update its rules to enable the prosecution of youth from age 14 as adults for violent crimes. Minors aged 15 and older can currently be charged as adults for some violent offenses.

Trump was commenting after D.C. Superior Court Judge Kendra Briggs sentenced two 15-year-olds, who had pleaded guilty to assaulting Coristine, to probation. The teens have not been publicly identified.

U.S. Attorney General for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro was asked in a separate briefing on Oct. 15 about the sentences.

“That’s why we have to lower the age of responsibility and accountability. We can have a record a mile long while we try to protect these young people under the guise that their prefrontal lobe is not developed. Enough of that,” she said. “The person who is beat to a pulp doesn’t care about the level of their prefrontal lobe, especially if they’re 15 years old.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during an appearance on “The Charlie Kirk Show” on Oct. 15 that a big issue in Washington is that juveniles only receive “a slap on the wrist,” with judges saying they need rehabilitation rather than incarceration.

“This administration has a completely different philosophy,“ she said. ”We need law and order. Period. If you commit a crime, you’re going to face consequences. If you commit a violent crime, you are going to see jail time.”

Coristine said in a post on X that only two out of 10 suspects had been identified and arrested.

“That night could’ve gone far differently,” he wrote. “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 Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia did not return a request for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.