Pennsylvania Democratic House Nominee Chris Rabb Says He Opposes Imprisonment, Except for ‘Lawless MAGA Thugs’
Pennsylvania state Rep. Chris Rabb, the Democratic nominee for Congress in Pennsylvania’s 3rd District, said on a podcast this week that he opposes locking people up, with one exception: people he called “lawless MAGA thugs.”
Rabb made the remarks in an interview with podcaster Wajahat Ali, posted on Ali’s YouTube channel on Tuesday, Oct. 13. Fox News Digital reported the comments Friday.
WHAT CHRIS RABB SAID ABOUT “LAWLESS MAGA THUGS”
“I’m a decarceration person,” Rabb said, according to the video. He said a country with 5% of the world’s population but 25% of “the people put in cages is morally wrong. It’s also bad policy.”
“But I will make an exception for all of those f---ers who are lawless MAGA thugs who have destroyed lives and communities,” Rabb said. “Lock all of those f---ers up. I know that seems a little hypocritical of me being on the left and being anti-incarceration, but lock those f---ers up.”
He went on: “We have the power as members of Congress to hold them to account, to impeach, to subpoena.”
Rabb said his view was about fairness, not revenge. “I hope you all will forgive me in my, perhaps, weakness. It’s not vengefulness, but right is right. We should have a level playing field,” he said. “If there are moms who are going to jail because they changed what school district they are so that their kids could get a better education … you better believe a Jared Kushner should be experiencing some jail time.”
In that part of the interview, the only person Rabb named was Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
WHO CHRIS RABB IS
Rabb has represented Philadelphia’s 200th District in the Pennsylvania House since 2017. The description of Ali’s episode identifies him as a member of the Democratic Socialists of America who won the Democratic primary for the 3rd District in May 2026.
The district covers much of Philadelphia and is an open seat: longtime Democratic Rep. Dwight Evans is not running again. On the Nov. 3 ballot, Rabb faces Dennis Mahoney of The Independent Party, and no Republican is listed, according to the Philadelphia City Commissioners’ official candidate list.
THE WHITE HOUSE RESPONSE
The White House answered Rabb’s remarks in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Trump-deranged Democrats have no agenda except to lob unhinged attacks against the president and obstruct the agenda he was elected to implement. This person is clearly disturbed and should seek help,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said.
Sources: Wajahat Ali’s YouTube interview with Chris Rabb (posted Oct. 13, 2026; remarks at about the 45:45 mark, transcribed by TDFP); Fox News Digital (Oct. 16, 2026), including the White House statement; Philadelphia City Commissioners, candidates for the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. Cover and in-post backgrounds: Pennsylvania State Capitol file photos via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0 and CC BY-SA 2.0).
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