U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro announced on Monday charges against two teens allegedly involved in the attack against a Department of Government Efficiency staffer over the summer.
Federal prosecutors have charged Lawrence Cotton-Powell, 19, along with Anthony Taylor, 18, with robbery, assault, and carjacking in connection with the attack on a DOGE staffer, Edward Coristine, known as “Big Balls,” and another person in early August. Not long before Coristine was beaten while defending a woman, Cotton-Powell and Taylor were involved in the mugging of a victim named Ethan Levine, Pirro said.
In addition to the mugging prior to Coristine, Pirro said that both suspects are repeat offenders who should have been in jail for other offenses and never had the opportunity to attack the two men in August.
“Lawrence Cotton-Powell is 19 years of age. He is now charged with robbery, first-degree robbery for which he faces 15 years in prison. He also faces a charge of assault with intent to commit robbery, another 15 years, and robbery for Edward Coristine, 15 years, assault with intent to commit robbery, another 15 years, and attempted carjacking, five years,” Pirro said.
The U.S. attorney then went on to detail how judges ignored her office’s requests for jail time for Cotton-Powell, instead letting the teen loose on probation. A short time after he was released in each case, he allegedly committed other crimes that landed him back in the crosshairs of prosecutors.
“The codefendant in this case is an individual by the name of Anthony Taylor. He – charged also with the same arrest – he is fraught with the same crimes,” Pirro said.
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The attack on Coristine, which left the federal staffer bloodied, appeared to trigger President Donald Trump’s crackdown on crime in major American cities. The president has deployed National Guardsmen to areas such as Washington, D.C., and Memphis, Tennessee, to deter crime. He has attempted to deploy troops to other locations, such as Seattle, but has been blocked by the courts.
The charges against Cotton-Powell and Taylor come after two teens involved in the attack received probation, a punishment criticized by Pirro and Trump.
The president called the sentences of probation, handed down to a 15-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy, “terrible.” The president and Pirro have called for stricter penalties against youth in D.C. to deter crime that has exploded among the capital’s teens.
“I think the judge should be ashamed of himself,” said Trump.
