Biden-appointed judge releases teens charged with attacking former DOGE staffer

The two teens who were charged in the attempted carjacking and beating of a former DOGE staffer earlier in August were released on orders from Biden-appointed DC Superior Court Judge Kendra D. Biggs. The 15-year-old boy and girl from Maryland were being held at DC's Youth Services Center but have been removed to a youth shelter and to his mother, respectively.

The two teens will have a 24-hour curfew, allowing them to attend school, and will be subjected to electronic monitoring. Prosecutors disagreed with Briggs' assessment. "The fact that this court is stepping you down from Youth Services Center is a serious step," the judge told the teens, who have been charged with attempted carjacking and the beating of software engineer Edward Coristine.

Briggs said that the two would be subjected to an emergency hearing if they violated these conditions, which include having no contact with one another. The Washington Post was witness to the hearing, as were a parent of each of the two juveniles.

The parents told Briggs that the children were enrolled in schools, though Briggs noted that the girl has "major truancy issues." At one point, she was also missing from home. Briggs said she released the boy to his mother so that he could more easily attend school.

While prosecutors objected to the reduction in restrictions, the lawyers for the teen girl said that the girl would now have "an opportunity to demonstrate her ability to comply in a new setting." She had not previously been involved with the juvenile justice system. Neither had the boy, whose lawyer said "Despite what he’s dealing with... his compliance and behavior at the Youth Services Center has been perfect to my knowledge."

Both of them will be drug tested and both will be made to attend school. Since 2023, 56% of carjackings in DC have been committed by juveniles, some as young as 12-years-old.

The Coristine beating immediately precipitated President Trump's federalization of DC. Since that incident, he has taken federal control of the Metro PD and has placed federal law enforcement officers on the streets of DC. National Guard troops are also patrolling the area.

Earlier this summer, a congressional intern was shot and killed near a Metro subway stop. Since Trump's takeover, there has been an entire week in the District with no homicides, for the first time since March. The nation's capital has hit record high murder rates since 2019.

US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro has spoken out against the leniency shows to teen offenders in the District. "A family court rehabilitation program of yoga and ice cream socials for hardened repeat offenders just doesn’t cut it," she said.