Washington’s justice theater reached new heights this week when two 15-year-olds who helped pummel and attempt to carjack 19-year-old Edward “Big Balls” Coristine avoided incarceration and were handed probation for their roles in the violent August attack that left him bloodied and concussed. The episode has Americans asking a simple question: when did violent juvenile thuggery become something to be coddled instead of punished?
The D.C. judge framed the outcome as juvenile rehabilitation, not punishment, issuing probation, electronic monitoring and community-service requirements while barring the teens from D.C. and from each other — a sentence that will do little to deter copycat violence in a city already bending under criminality. Parents and victims watched as the court emphasized “help” over accountability, even after prosecutors described the teens’ rampage along U Street and the bloody aftermath of the assault.
Conservative leaders and everyday Americans reacted with the outrage one would expect when a violent street beating is treated like a minor infraction. President Trump, who spotlighted the photo of Coristine’s injuries and moved swiftly to federalize D.C. law enforcement after the August attack, called the probation ruling “terrible,” arguing that such softness invites more lawlessness rather than reform.
On Gutfeld!, panelist Tyrus cut to the painful truth: the motivation behind attacks like this is the belief that “we can do it and get away with it,” a candid assessment that exposes how lenient sentences become the green light for more assaults and brazen robberies. Fox commentators aren’t interested in dramatics — they’re speaking plainly for the millions of Americans who want simple justice: assault someone, face real consequences.
Meanwhile, the media and the left’s narrative machine scramble to frame the outcome as mercy and progress, even as victims pick up the pieces and neighborhoods grow less safe. This isn’t compassion — it’s a policy choice that sacrifices law-abiding citizens for the comfort of soft-on-crime optics, and figures from Elon Musk to rank-and-file conservatives have rightly blasted the decision as emblematic of a broken system.
Hardworking Americans deserve better than lectures from judges who conflate rehabilitation with impunity. Lawmakers must stop posturing and pass real reforms to protect victims, restore parental responsibility, and ensure that juvenile courts do not become safe harbors for violent behavior. If we want our streets and our children to live in secure communities, punishments must fit the crime and politicians must stop rewarding lawlessness.
