Over the weekend, we saw yet another violent mob of "teens" taking over a local Washington, D.C. Chipotle restaurant and wreaking havoc, throwing toddler chairs, wrecking furniture, and forcing customers to take refuge in a corner of the dining area. What's interesting is how similarly dressed all these goblins were, making one wonder just how spontaneous this really was.
On Monday, the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, had some angry words for the thugs - and their parents.
NEW: U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro draws a hard line against teen lawlessness following a violent brawl at a DC Chipotle:
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 18, 2026
"It was a takeover of a restaurant by individuals who felt they could get away with it. Well, they're not going to get away with it."
"The message that… pic.twitter.com/lE7t6REfLq
The X post reads:
NEW: U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro draws a hard line against teen lawlessness following a violent brawl at a DC Chipotle:
"It was a takeover of a restaurant by individuals who felt they could get away with it. Well, they're not going to get away with it."
"The message that lawlessness runs the streets is over."
"The city belongs to law-abiding residents, not roaming mobs looking to make a name for themselves, contribute to the chaos and violence, or gain social media attention."
"These are not kids being kids."
Here's what she said:
These are not harmless gatherings. They are violent, and they are disruptive. And you can see from what happened at Chipotle this past weekend. It was not just violence occurring between two individuals. It was simply the destruction of property. It was a takeover of a restaurant by individuals who felt they could get away with it. Well, they’re not going to get away with it, and I'm going to tell you how in a couple of minutes. But this terrorizing is going to end. And the message that lawlessness runs the streets is over.
The city belongs to law-abiding residents, not roaming mobs looking to make a name for themselves, or to contribute to the chaos and violence, and to get social media attention.
Of that, there can be little doubt.
Read More: ‘Premeditated’: Pirro Says Evidence in WHCD Shooting Now Tells a Much Darker Story
About Time: Parents Who Drop Kids Off for Teen Mobs Now Face Fines, Classes, or Prison
A New York Post piece has more details:
“We’re coming for you and we’re coming for your parents,” she (Pirro) declared, threatening charges and fines up to $500 for all curfew violators as well.
DC prosecutor Michael Spence noted that in some cases the office “may be able to prosecute parents who live in Maryland or Virginia” if their “kids are still here in the district” without supervision.
Pirro joined with the city’s mayor, Muriel Bowser, in calling for changes to the District’s curfew laws, which had recently been “punted” by the DC council.
“Right now, the curfew is 11 [p.m.] to 6 [a.m.] weekdays,” she continued. “And I think on the weekends it may be 12 [p.m.] to 6 [a.m.], but the DC council is not willing to deal with this.”
Going after the parents, if there are no legal stumbling blocks, may help. What's not clear is to what extent these parents have any control over their feral offspring. And there simply aren't enough cops in any urban area to start scooping up kids who violate any curfew, or enough holding cells to fling them into until their parents come get them, or until the curfew ends in the morning; and somehow, that last option seems a lot more likely in most of these cases. Maybe making the parents feel some financial or legal pain may help some, on the margins. But it won't help with the root causes: Absentee parents, and generations of soft-handed treatment by squishy district attorneys and prosecutors, along with feather-headed judges. The reckoning among too many of these youths is that they will likely get off easy, and that view isn't unwarranted; for the most part, they do.
And, once again, we are left with the same old gap: The primary purpose of government is to protect the liberty and property of the citizens. Too many of our major (and minor) cities are failing in this task. In this instance, in a District of Columbia restaurant, we've seen that failure again.
Editor’s Note: The American people overwhelmingly support President Trump’s law and order agenda.
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