Poll: Agreement that political violence may be necessary to right the country grows

"Three-in-10 people now say that Americans may have to resort to violence in order to get the country back on track, according to a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll. To be sure, a strong majority disagree with that (70%), but the 30% who now say violence may be necessary is up 11 points since April 2024, an increase driven by Democrats."

"Three-quarters of people 77% described political violence as a major concern. Respondents are split, however, on whether they're more concerned with violence toward public officials (49%) or protesters (50%). Here, there's a very sharp political divide 70% of Democrats said protesters, 74% of Republicans said public officials. The survey of more than 1,400 people nationwide was conducted over five days last week."

Thirty percent of Americans say violence may be necessary to get the country back on track, up 11 points since April 2024. The increase is driven by Democrats, whose agreement rose from 12% to 28%, while 31% of Republicans and 25% of independents also now say violence may be necessary. Seventy-seven percent describe political violence as a major concern. Respondents are roughly split between concern for violence toward public officials (49%) and protesters (50%), with Democrats prioritizing protesters and Republicans prioritizing public officials. The nationwide survey of over 1,400 people has a +/-3.1 percentage-point margin of error and used multiple contact methods. Additional findings cover national direction, free speech restrictions, National Guard deployment, child vaccination requirements, gun policy priorities, and release of Epstein files.

Read at www.npr.org