Who Is Edward 'Big Balls' Coristine? Learn About The Attack Victim
How Edward 'Big Balls' Coristine Went From DOGE Employee To Attack Victim
Published
Residents of Washington, D.C. learned in August 2025 when it was reported a young man had been beaten and bloodied by a group of several minors in an attempted carjacking.
The victim of the violent incident was identified as Edward Coristine, a teenage former DOGE staffer who's gained notoriety for both his professional life and his online nickname, "Big Balls."
We're going to look into the background of the government employee and see how the attack has generated widespread reactions ... including one from President Donald Trump.
Edward's The Son Of An Entrepreneur
Coristine is the son of Charles Coristine, the CEO of LesserEvil Snacks, which he sold for $750 million in April 2025, according to CNBC.
The company sent out a cryptic email to customers in February 2025, after Edward had been hired at DOGE -- the Department of Government Efficiency -- and wrote they were "no way affiliated with any political figures, political policies or political groups," according to The Verge.
The government employee enrolled at Northeastern University in Boston in 2024, where he studied in the institution's physics department.
He was fired from an internship at a cybersecurity firm after being accused of leaking secrets ... and he later interned at Elon Musk's neurotechnology company NeuroLink, according to Bloomberg News.
Coristine Joined DOGE When He Was Just 19
Coristine -- who told Fox News he took on his nickname as a joke -- joined DOGE in early 2025, and his hiring was met attracted a lot of national attention, specifically about his age and lack of experience.
DOGE's cuts affected multiple federal agencies -- including the Social Security Administration, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, and USAID -- during his tenure with the group, according to The Guardian.
Coristine remained with DOGE until he resigned in June 2025 ... just a month after Musk, who spearheaded the group, officially left the organization.
Coristine subsequently joined the Social Security Administration as a special government employee, and a spokesperson for the organization claimed Cortisone would focus on "improving the functionality of the Social Security website and advancing our mission of delivering more efficient service to the American people," according to NBC News.
Coristine Was Reportedly Beaten By Several Teenagers
The attack on Coristine took place about a mile north of the White House in the early hours of August 3, 2025, and reportedly started when a group of youths approached the him and his significant other and made comments about taking their car, according to the New York Post.
Coristine apparently pushed his companion into the car before the minors began assaulting him -- the attack was stopped when police officers arrived at the scene ... several of the assailants fled.
Cops arrested two 15-year-old suspects -- a girl and a boy -- and they've been charged with unarmed carjacking.
Coristine, who had his iPhone 16 stolen during the incident, was left bruised and bloodied, and he's apparently recovering from a black eye, a concussion and a broken nose.
Trump Called For Federalizing Washington, D.C. Following The Attack
The attack was noticed by several prominent figures within Washington, D.C. ... including Trump, who shared a lengthy message on Truth Social -- the platform he owns -- condemning the attack.
The President called for the prosecution of the suspects as adults, and for lengthy prison sentences. Then he threatened to federalize Washington, D.C. to "run this city how it should be run."
Musk, whose history with Trump rapidly deteriorated after leaving his stint as a special government employee, agreed with the President, and he too called for the nation's capital to be federalized in a post on his X account -- on the platform he owns -- though the details he cited were off.
