Political violence growing in US; poll says increasing share of Americans OK with it

An increasing number of Americans are okay with resorting to violence when it comes to expressing their political beliefs. Data from a new poll conducted by the Chicago Project on Security and Threats (CPOST), showed that calls to "lower the temperature" might be falling on deaf ears.

University of Chicago Professor Robert Pape's research found that 10% of American adults, about 26 million people, agree that "the use of force is justified to prevent Donald Trump from becoming president."

On the other side of the political spectrum, the research showed 7% of Americans, about 18 million people, agreed that using force "is justified to restore Donald Trump to the presidency."

Instead of settling differences with conversations or at the ballot box, some people opted for violence in an attempt to get their point across.

Shortly after a man attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden addressed the nation from the Oval Office.

“A former president was shot," Biden said. "An American citizen killed while simply exercising his freedom to support the candidate of his choosing. We cannot, we must not go down this road in America. We’ve traveled it before throughout our history. Violence has never been the answer.”

Then, 10 days later, a man on an ATV ran over an 80-year-old putting pro-Trump signs on his lawn. Police said a 22-year-old man carried out that politically-motivated attack and two others before killing himself.

The attacks happened in Michigan, a swing state. Before the 2020 election, federal officials arrested several men who said they were plotting to kidnap and possibly kill Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

In recent years, several high-profile examples of escalating political violence and threats made headlines.

In June 2022, police arrested a man armed with a gun and a knife. They said he attempted to kill U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Supreme Court police warned there was a significant increase in violent threats as protesters showed up at justices' homes after someone leaked the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision.

A man attacked Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi's husband in their home in October 2022. The man smashed Paul Pelosi in the head with a hammer. Paul Pelosi survived what could have been a fatal attack.

The largest instance of violence occurred on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

In 2021, the National League of Cities conducted a poll of 112 public officials. It found 4 in 5 officials experienced harassment and threats of violence.

Rachel Kleinfeld, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told NPR that two strategies are shown to work to reduce political violence.

First, politicians on both sides of the aisle have to down down political rhetoric. They also needed to make it clear that "violence has no place within their side."

Second, Kleinfeld said, correcting "misconceptions" makes a big difference. It allows every day Americans to "understand the the difference between their neighbors and the leaders."

With less than 100 days to go until the 2024 general election, CPOST research showed more than half of Americans disagree with any form of political violence.

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