Do Americans support political violence?
Updates from the 2026 Life in America Survey
Quick Summary
- There was a broad decrease in support for political violence in the United States from mid-2025 to mid-2026, contrary to expectation and popular perception.
Since 2022, researchers at the Centers for Violence Prevention at UC Davis have surveyed Americans on how they feel about political violence, including whether it is ever justified and, if so, whether they would personally get involved in it. This fact sheet provides updated key findings of the research and citations to peer-reviewed publications.