Socialist Mamdani says he will empty out the prisons because 'Violence is an artificial construct"

The recently elected mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani is a vocal advocate for criminal justice reform, including defunding the police, ending cash bail, and emptying the jails and prisons especially in facilities like Rikers Island.

His positions often frame mass incarceration as a form of systemic violence perpetuated by the state, rather than individual acts labeled as "crimes."

"Violent crime has been used for people accused of burglary and there happens to be a housing unit in that same dwelling."

 
"So violence is an artificial construct. After being very clear what's happening here with this district attorney, that is violence. That is violence at the highest degree."

Mamdani was speaking outside a Manhattan courthouse in June, at a "Rally to Free Our People and End the Humanitarian Crisis in Rikers."