Liberals and younger Americans are more likely to justify political violence, poll says

Americans generally believe political violence to be wrong, but liberals and younger Americans are more likely to say political violence can be justified to achieve goals and to celebrate the death of a public figure.

In the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk being fatally shot while speaking on a college campus in Utah last week, a survey from YouGov found that 72% of Americans across the political spectrum say political violence is never justified. Another 11% believe it can sometimes be justified, 12% aren’t sure and 6% preferred not to say.

When split into partisan groups, 25% of those who identify as very liberal said violence can sometimes be justified. And 17% of those who identify as liberal, 9% of who identify as moderate, 6% of those who identify as conservative and less than 5% of those who identify as very conservative, said the same.

Younger Americans aged 18-29 are the most likely to say violence is justified — 19% said it’s sometimes justified, 51% said violence is never justified, 15% said not sure and another 15% preferred not to say.

The least likely group to say it’s justified is the 65 and older crowd, with only 3% saying political violence is justified. Some 8% of those aged 45-64 said it’s justified and 14% of those 30-44 said the same.

When Americans are split into partisan groups, 18% of liberals justify violence for political goals, and 68% justify it for self-defense. However, 7% of conservatives justify violence for political goals, while 71% justify it for self-defense.

Similarly, most Americans, 77%, agree that it’s unacceptable to be happy about public figures’ deaths. But among liberals, 10%, and those who identify as very liberal, 24%, were again more likely to say it’s always or usually acceptable. Only 7% of moderates and 4% of conservatives said the same.

Among younger Americans, 12% of those aged 18-29 were more likely to say it’s acceptable to be happy about the death.

YouGov said similar results were found among Democrats and young people when asked in the wake of the assassination of Minnesota politician Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, in June.

When self-defense is brought into the equation, most adults, 65%, said violence is sometimes justified, while 10% said it’s justified for political goals.

While some liberal and younger Americans say political violence can be justified, they are somewhat less likely than other age groups to defend violence when it comes to self-defense.

Some 22% of those aged 18-29 said political violence is justified for political goals, and 60% said it’s justified in self-defense. But those aged 45-64, and 65 and older, are more likely to say violence is justified in self-defense, 68% and 69%, respectively.