President Donald Trump increased the presence of federal law enforcement in response to crime in D.C. just days after a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer was brutally beaten in the nation’s capital, the White House shared with the Daily Caller.
A White House official told the Caller that the increased presence was launched on Thursday in compliance with the president’s March executive order establishing the “D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force.” As a part of the move, which will kick off as a 7-day effort, “[f]ederal officers will be identified, in marked units, and highly visible,” the official said.
“Washington, DC is an amazing city, but it has been plagued by violent crime for far too long. President Trump has directed an increased presence of federal law enforcement to protect innocent citizens. There will be no safe harbor for violent criminals in D.C. President Trump is committed to making our Nation’s capital safer for its residents, lawmakers, and visitors from all around the world,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Caller in a statement.
Increased law enforcement began at midnight on Thursday, with at least 15 agencies involved in the effort as a part of the Task Force’s Law Enforcement Working Group, the official told the Caller. Agencies on the task force include the Metro Transit Police Department, Amtrak Police Department, United States Capitol Police, Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to information shared with the Caller.
Edward Coristine, a former DOGE staffer known online as “Big Balls,” was brutally beaten in Washington D.C. early Sunday morning after intervening amid a carjacking attempt, according to a police report obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. (RELATED: The Far Left Hates Big Balls)
Coristine alleged that he observed the suspects approach. The suspects proceeded to demand the victim turn over their vehicle, according to a Metropolitan Police Department press release. Reacting to the threat, “Big Balls” pushed the victim he was with into the vehicle and confronted the suspects.
Around 10 suspects fled the scene on foot after assaulting Coristine, according to the police report.
Trump reacted to the news Wednesday, saying he was weighing bringing in the National Guard to address crime in the nation’s capital.
“We’re considering it, yeah, because the crime is ridiculous. I could show you a chart comparing D.C. to other locations, and you’re not going to want to see what it looks like,” Trump said. “It was just up on television, actually, that we’re showing it. Now, we want to have a great, safe capital, and we’re going to have it. That includes cleanliness, and it includes other things.”
An US Capitol Police office enters his car parked on the side walk near the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on August 8, 2025. US President Donald Trump ordered on August 7 to use federal law enforcement in Washington, DC to combat crime. (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
In recent weeks, crime in D.C. has been a focus of the media. On July 3, Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, an intern for Republican Kansas Rep. Ron Estes, was killed in Washington, D.C. Tarpinian-Jachym was a bystander caught in the crossfire after two other suspects emerged from a vehicle and allegedly shot at a collection of people near Mount Vernon Square Metro Station, possibly prompting someone to return fire, according to NBC4 Washington.
Near the end of May, two Israeli Embassy staff members were murdered in the vicinity of the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.
Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela A. Smith identified 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, Illinois, as the alleged gunman in the shooting of the two staffers. Rodriguez called out “Free, free Palestine,” while in police custody, Smith told the press.
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