U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced the names of two adult suspects charged with assaulting Edward Coristine, the former Department of Government Efficiency employee nicknamed “Big Balls.”
Pirro named 19-year-old Laurence Cotton-Powell and 18-year-old Anthony Taylor as two of the alleged suspects in the August attack in a press conference Monday afternoon. Coristine’s assault brought crime in Washington, D.C., under a microscope, with President Donald Trump using the incident as part of his justification for declaring a crime emergency in the district.
Last week, a district family court gave probation to two 15-year-olds who each pleaded guilty to their involvement in Coristine’s assault. The minors received no jail time.
Pirro emphasized that Cotton-Powell had multiple criminal violations before the Coristine assault. Pirro railed against the district’s superior court for granting Cotton-Powell probation when he was sentenced for felony attempted robbery.
“So, after a felony of attempted robbery, conviction, after a violation of probation, after a second crime; after a second conviction, after no compliance with [the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency]: the judges say, ‘Do better,’ and they let him go. And guess what? Within 10 days, he’s at it again with Ethan Levine and Edward Coristine,” Pirro said, referring to Cotton-Powell.
Cotton-Powell was arrested in October 2024 on robbery charges, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. Pirro said her office is not aware of any criminal history for Taylor.
Ethan Levine was the victim of a separate assault that happened on the same night within the area of Coristine’s assult. Pirro stood between images of Levine and Coristine during her remarks at the press conference and said Cotton-Powell and Taylor are suspects in both attacks.
Pirro announced the two suspects were arrested this weekend and that their preliminary hearings will likely be on Nov. 6.
“We expect that there will be more who will be identified and arrested,” Pirro said.
MPD Chief Pamela Smith attended the press conference and echoed Pirro’s rhetoric, expressing frustration with how often the same individuals are arrested with reoffenses in the district.
“This behavior is indicative of what we see time and time again, a small group of suspects committed a series of violent crime offenses in a very short period of time. These arrests send a very strong message to our community: If you commit violent acts in our community, you will be found, you will be held accountable, and you will face justice,” Smith said.
Smith called the fact that MPD often rearrests those who have been released by the courts “frustrating for my police officers every single day” and “offensive.”
DC COURT GIVES TEENAGERS WHO ATTACKED EX-DOGE STAFFER PROBATION AND NO JAIL TIME
Chief Inspector Don Snider of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force provided an update from the U.S. Marshals Service on how many arrests had been made since the start of Trump’s declared crime emergency in the district.
“Over the past 75 days, the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force has arrested over 4,700 offenders, seizing over 460 illicit firearms during these arrests. Violent crime is down across the city,” Snider said.