Washington, D.C. is in the national spotlight for a wave of violent juvenile crime that continues to escalate under the failed leadership of Attorney General Brian Schwalb. The latest consequence came Sunday night with the brutal alleged attack on Edward Coristine, known online as “Big Balls,” during an attempted carjacking led by two 15-year-olds in the nation’s capital.
Despite a public outcry, the attack is far from surprising. It’s the direct and foreseeable outcome of Schwalb’s lenient and ideologically driven criminal justice approach. His refusal to impose meaningful consequences on juvenile offenders has created an environment where violent teenagers feel emboldened to act without fear of real punishment.
“Kids are kids”? Not when they’re committing felonies
Since taking office in 2023, AG Schwalb has embraced the mantra that “kids are kids” — insisting that teenage carjackers, muggers, and assailants are simply making mistakes due to underdeveloped brains. But these aren’t harmless pranks. They aren’t egging front doors or teepeeing houses. They are often violent, traumatizing, and sometimes deadly crimes committed by teenagers who know the system won’t hold them accountable.
Schwalb’s public statements downplaying the role of law enforcement in deterring crime — claiming, “We cannot prosecute and arrest our way out of it” — are exactly the kind of rhetoric that has led to skyrocketing violence across the city.
The numbers speak for themselves
Under Schwalb’s leadership:
- Felonies, including carjackings, have been downgraded to misdemeanors.
- Charges have been dropped or reduced in 40% of all juvenile cases.
- Sentencing guidelines have been lowered.
- Early release policies have expanded.
As a result, D.C. has seen carjackings double, and a staggering 65% of suspects are juveniles. Among those arrested, 90% are black — a fact that undermines Schwalb’s premise that softening enforcement policies somehow improves outcomes for minorities. In reality, these policies have only fed a revolving-door system of crime, arrest, release, and repeat.
“Rehabilitation” without consequence breeds chaos
In 2023, prosecutors dropped charges against an 11-year-old with a history of robbery and assault. Less than two weeks later, the same child was arrested again after allegedly threatening to shoot a delivery driver during another attempted theft. Schwalb’s office claimed they were “working on a plea deal.”
Foster parent Kevin McGilly summarized public frustration best when he said, “Nobody wants 15-year-olds in jail. I don’t. But I don’t want them to walk away without them understanding the gravity of what they’ve done.”
Juveniles who commit serious, violent crimes need to face real, proportionate consequences — both for public safety and for their own chance at rehabilitation. Slaps on the wrist don’t rehabilitate; they normalize criminal behavior.
A system collapsing from within
D.C.’s public institutions are failing in tandem. The city’s public school system is so dysfunctional that 90% of high school students are functionally illiterate, feeding a pipeline of disconnected, unaccountable, and increasingly dangerous young people into the streets.
The AG’s office — which is responsible for juvenile prosecutions and certain adult misdemeanors — is compounding the problem by prioritizing “equity” over enforcement. In doing so, it has abandoned the fundamental principle that public safety must come first.
A call for real accountability
Following the attack on Coristine, AG Schwalb condemned the violence and promised to prosecute when “we have the evidence needed to do so.” But talk is cheap. D.C. residents want to see results, not platitudes. They want safety on their streets, and that means making it crystal clear to young offenders that serious crimes carry serious consequences.
President Trump has already deployed the National Guard to restore order in the District following the Sunday assault. That shouldn’t be necessary in a functioning city, but with leadership this unserious, it may be the only viable option.
D.C. doesn’t just have a crime problem; it has a consequence problem — one created and sustained by an Attorney General who refuses to enforce the law.
The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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Attorney General Brian Schwalb is derelict in his duties to uphold the law. But he is the last in the line of responsible parties failing in their roles. Young people need guidance on the structure and limitations of society’s expectations of what is acceptable behavior, beginning with having TWO responsible parents to raise babies, toddlers, and young children to understand the importance of good behavior and to teach the children the penalties of bad behavior with the intent to guide the child away from such at a very early age. Parents need to establish parental control of their children when they are young and maintain it throughout their youth until they are ready to take on the role of law-abiding responsible adults. Schools and universities also are a critical element in raising responsible, law-abiding citizens. They must enforce good behavior while the child or young adult is under their guidance. CRT/DEI has NO PLACE in developing the minds and moral values of youngsters. CRT/DEI is nothing but a divisive tool to steer the country toward socialism/marxism/communism, which are un-American and anti-Constitutional. Our elected officials (whether it be town councils, BOE, state or federal legislators, and others and their staff) too often fail to adhere to the law, and common moral values of truth, honesty, respect, gratitude, self-reliance, hard work and love of neighbor and self. Our city/town councils around the country need to empower and appreciate local law enforcement and guide them to enforce the laws that make our communities safe. “Defund the police” is nothing but a socialist/criminal scheme to undermine America and God’s laws as laid out in the 10 Commandments. The tv/movie industry and the gaming industry are also immensely complicit with the constant focus on violence, pornography and other bad behavior adding to the deterioration of moral values. It is time to reclaim America’s greatness by refocusing on positive neighborly values throughout every aspect of American life.