More Americans now say violence may be needed to get US back on track: Survey

Nearly a third of Americans suggested some violence could be justified in order to get the U.S. back on track, according to a new survey.

The NPR/PBS News/Marist poll, published this week, found that 30 percent of respondents either “strongly agree” or “agree” that “Americans may have to resort to violence” in order to steer the country in in the right direction. That is compared to the 19 percent who said the same in a March 2024 survey.

A large majority of U.S. adults, 70 percent, said they either “disagree” or “strongly disagree” that the nation should resort to violence, the poll shows.

Concerns around political violence and protection of free speech have swirled in recent weeks after the deadly shootings of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah and Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota — and since President Trump faced two assassination attempts during his 2024 campaign.

Trump and Republicans have blasted Democrats and the left for what they argue is heightened rhetoric against the administration’s policies.

Another poll from late last month found that more than 7 in 10 U.S. voters believe the U.S. is in political crisis following Kirk’s assassination.

The NPR/PBS/Marist poll was conducted Sep. 22-26 featuring 1,477 people. It has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.