A Democrat state representative from Connecticut was arrested for allegedly stealing from a Target store, and this was reportedly not the first time.
Rep. Raghib Allie-Brennan said it was an “error” on his part in not scanning all the items he held in a self-checkout lane at a Target in Bethel, Connecticut, mentioning his hospitalized grandmother in his excuse.
The 33-year-old Democrat was arrested on Monday, according to the Bethel Police Department.
ICYMI: Connecticut Democrat State Rep Raghib Allie-Brennan voted in 2019 to BAN stores from giving single-use bags.
He was just arrested for shoplifting and blamed it on… the store not having bags.
You can’t make this up. pic.twitter.com/BZxBQQSjtj
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 25, 2025
“Officers said the state representative tried to leave the store without paying for $26.69 worth of merchandise, but he was also recognized by loss prevention for prior unreported larcenies, according to police,” NBC Connecticut reported.
In a statement, Allie-Brennan, who serves as Chief Majority Whip and co-chair of the LGBTQ+ Caucus, explained that he takes “full responsibility” for his unintentional actions.
“During a recent visit to the Bethel Target, two items in my armload of others were not scanned. I was in a rush to bring items to my grandmother in the hospital, the store didn’t have bags, and I was juggling multiple purchases. While I do not have a record, I take full responsibility for the error and am working through the legal processes to resolve the matter quickly and respectfully,” he said.
“I respect the law and Target’s right to enforce their loss prevention policy, and I remain committed to serving my community with transparency and integrity,” the lawmaker added.
Allie-Brennan, who was first elected in 2018, was reportedly issued a misdemeanor summons for sixth-degree larceny. The four-term lawmaker is scheduled to appear in court on July 1.
“He recognizes the high standard to which I hold our members and is taking responsibility for inadvertently leaving the Target self-checkout without scanning several items,” House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, said in a statement.
Social media users reacted to the news.
This has to be parody?
— Gunther Eagleman
(@GuntherEagleman) June 25, 2025
It’s the line “the Loss Prevention Team recognized him from ‘previous unreported larcenies’ that indicate this is problem. I use self checkout nearly exclusively and I know this has happened to me before, not intentionally but if they’ve been watching for him, tells me he was…
— Ryan LeVier (@ryanlevier) June 25, 2025
In a rush to bring items to a hospitalized grandmother.
Way to check all the boxes sir.— La via guerre (@JB0ne1) June 25, 2025
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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