Feelings of Political Violence Rise

Protests and acts of violence over political and social issues seem to be occurring more often in the U.S. New data shows how more Americans feel as though violence is a justifiable act in the quest to achieve greater political goals.

According to survey data compiled from sources like YouGov, Nationscape and the Voter Study Group, 36 percent of Republicans and 33 percent of Democrats feel somewhat justified in using varying levels of violence to achieve their political goals. That’s an enormous increase over the last three years, when, in 2017, just 8 percent of both Republicans and Democrats felt the same. Those numbers have risen steadily since then, rising sharply over the last six months of 2020.