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Time to start grabbing guns and shooting civillians. They could all be ANTIFA.


ThereAs a growing number of Americans who think violence might be necessary
to get the country back on track
Politics Oct 1, 2025

Nearly a third of Americans u 30% u say people may have to resort to
violence in order to get the country back on track, according to the latest PBS News/NPR/Marist poll.

ItAs a sharp rise from 18 months ago, when 19% of Americans said the same.

READ MORE: Are Democrats or Republicans to blame for the looming government shutdown? HereAs what our poll found

The belief that violence may be the answer has grown among Republicans and independents u up 3 and 7 percentage points, respectively, since April last year. But the largest increase has been among Democrats. Now 28% of
Democrats share that view, up 16 points.
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It comes on the heels of recent high-profile acts of political violence in
the United States, marked by the assasination of conservative activist
Charlie Kirk in Utah last month, the murder of a Democratic state
legislator and her husband in Minnesota in June, a Molotov cocktail thrown into the Pennsylvania governorAs mansion in April and two assassination attempts on Donald Trump last summer when he was running for reelection. 2025-sep_violence line

Nearly a third of Americans (30%) say people may have to resort to violence
in order to get the country back on track, according to the latest PBS News/NPR/Marist poll. ItAs a sharp rise from 18 months ago, when 19% of Americans said the same. Graphic by Jenna Cohen/PBS News.

At the same time, the number of Americans who believe the country is moving
in the wrong direction has grown since Trump returned to the Oval Office.
In the latest poll, 62% said the country is headed off track, up 8 points since March. That includes 68% of independents.
oItAs a horrific moment to see that people honestly believe that thereAs no other alternative at this point than to resort to political violence.o

Thirty-eight percent believe the country is headed in the right direction,
the poll found.

WATCH: Extremism scholar analyzes influence of rhetoric on political
violence

oWeAve had an erosion in a lot of norms and rules, and in our institutionso that has accelerated in the last year, said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist University Institute for Public Opinion. oThe cloud over all this remains the excessive polarization on a lot of issues. So the country is
more divided. Our temperature is now well above normal. WeAre breaking a pretty high fever right now.o
2025-sep_direction

The number of Americans who believe the country is moving in the wrong direction has grown since Trump returned to the Oval Office. In a PBS News/NPR/Marist poll released Oct.1, 62% said the country is headed off
track, up 8 points since March. Graphic by Jenna Cohen/PBS News.

The rising support for violence is particularly alarming to Cynthia Miller- Idriss, a professor at American University and founding director of PERIL,
the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab. She said the latest poll findings oshould be a real wake-up call.o

WATCH: Why the U.S. is experiencing heightened political violence

oItAs a horrific moment to see that people honestly believe that thereAs no other alternative at this point than to resort to political violence,o Miller-Idriss said. oOne of the things you really want to see right now is universal condemnation of the use of violence and de-escalation of
rhetoric.o
Growing concern about political violence, especially among Republicans

Despite the heated political climate, or perhaps because of it, the vast majority of Americans believe politically motivated violence is a major problem.

About three-quarters of poll respondents see it as a significant issue, an increase of 4 points from July, before KirkAs death. Eighteen percent said politically motivated violence is a minor problem, while 4% said itAs not a problem at all.

READ MORE: How recent political violence in the U.S. fits into aa long,
dark historyA

Those who believe itAs a major problem include majorities of all political parties, including 72% of Democrats and 80% of independents.

Republicans demonstrated the sharpest increase in concern, with 84% now
saying itAs a major problem, a 15-point increase from three months ago.

oCharlie KirkAs assassination was a turning pointo for the nation and the world about how bad things have gotten, Miller-Idriss said.

READ MORE: Graphic video of Kirk shooting was everywhere online, showing
how mediaAs role has changed

KirkAs killing, seen by millions of people in viral graphic video clips on social media, was quickly labeled by Republican leaders and law enforcement
as left-wing violence. Authorities havenAt provided a full motive for the alleged shooter. But, as Miller-Idriss notes, the data over the last decade shows the majority of political violence originated from right-wing and
white supremacist groups.
People pay their respects at a memorial for slain conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, at Utah Valley University

A placard reading othis is the turning pointo is placed next to flowers and U.S. flags at a memorial for slain conservative commentator Charlie Kirk,
at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 29, 2025. Photo by Jim Urquhart/ Reuters

oIt is really important to show and to document the rise in the left and left-wing extremism,o she said. oIt still doesnAt reach the threshold of
any legitimate researcher I know of saying itAs the biggest threat.o

While Americans largely agree politically motivated violence is a problem,
the country is split on who is most threatened by that violence.

ANALYSIS: What data shows about political extremist violence

Half of Americans are more concerned about politically motivated violence against public officials. The other half are more worried about violence against protesters.

About three-quarters of Republicans are more worried about violence against public officials while seven in 10 Democrats worry about violence against protesters.

Miller-Idriss said Americans odo not want to see rising political violence
be used as an opportunity for political leaders of any platform, of any
party, to suppress freedom of speech, to attack individuals for their ideas when those ideas are protected free speech in this country, because that is
a slippery slope to authoritarianism.o
Majority of adults feel the U.S. has gone too far in restricting free
speech

In the weeks after KirkAs death, the Trump administration and the
presidentAs conservative allies made an organized effort to call out people they said celebrated KirkAs death online. When Vice President JD Vance
hosted KirkAs podcast, he encouraged his followers to report peopleAs
comments to their employers in an effort to get them fired.

WATCH: Firings over callous remarks on KirkAs killing spark debate on
limits of free speech

Late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel was temporarily removed from the air after conservatives complained about a joke he made after KirkAs death and FCC
Chair Brendan Carr suggested the government could punish ABC. oWe can do
this the easy way or the hard way,o Carr told right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson. Hours later, ABC suspended KimmelAs show.
2025-sep_freedom of speech

Nearly eight in 10 Americans said the U.S. has gone too far in restricting
the right to freedom of speech, according to the latest PBS News/NPR/Marist poll. Another 19% said the country has gone too far in expanding freedom of speech. Nearly a third of Republicans share that view. Graphic by Jenna
Cohen/ PBS News

Carr has also suggested the FCC could investigate other broadcasters if
they donAt oserve the public interest.o

Free-speech advocates and many Republicans, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, warned that a crackdown on speech could eventually backfire on
conservatives.
U.S. Senators Schumer and Gillibrand hold Free Speech rally in Foley Square
in front of Federal Courthouse in New York

A woman holds a copy of the U.S. Constitution during a Free Speech rally on April 22, 2025. Photo by Brendan McDermid/ Reuters

Nearly eight in 10 Americans said the U.S. has gone too far in restricting
the right to freedom of speech, according to the latest PBS News/NPR/Marist poll. Another 19% said the country has gone too far in expanding freedom of speech. Nearly a third of Republicans share that view.

READ MORE: Trump manages another Republican makeover, this time on free
speech and cancel culture
oWeAve seen an unprecedented assault on freedom of expression over the last eight months.o

Will Creeley, the legal director for FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, is encouraged that the overwhelming majority of Americans are concerned about government efforts to limit free speech.

oWeAve seen an unprecedented assault on freedom of expression over the last eight months,o Creeley said. oThe scale, scope, severity and volume of this attack on dissent and criticism has been serious.o

About four in 10 Americans believe the federal government should play no
role in deciding what speech is unacceptable or too extreme. Another 44% believe the government should play a minor role in those determinations,
while 15% said the government should have a major role.

READ MORE: Trump campaigned as a protector of free speech but critics say
his actions threaten it

If the government does weigh in on the validity of speech, one thing
Americans across political divides seem to agree on is that the Supreme
Court u not the president u should make those determinations. Eleven
percent of Americans, including 15% of Republicans, would put their trust
in the president to define extreme speech, compared to 62% who said that decision should be left to the justices.

oThe government shouldnAt have a major role or really any role in deciding what we can say, think or debate,o Creeley said. oAnd if folks disagree
with that, they should imagine their political opponents in power. You
might think differently when someone is occupying the White House or
Congress who doesnAt like what you have to say.o
More takeaways from the latest PBS News/NPR/Marist poll:

Vaccines: The overwhelming majority of Americans u 82% u support
mandating vaccines against certain diseases for children before they enroll
in school, despite recent false claims from Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. about vaccine safety and plans in Florida to roll back vaccine requirements for public schools.
National Guard deployments: Half of Americans (52%) support the
deployment of the National Guard to local communities to reduce crime,
while 48% oppose the moves, including a third of Americans who strongly disapprove. Fifty-three percent of Republicans are strongly in favor, while 60% of Democrats are strongly opposed.
Guns: Recent high-profile shootings, including at a church in Michigan
and a Catholic school in Minnesota, have again raised the prospect of how
to balance the rights of gun owners with public safety. In this poll, 40%
of Americans said it is more important to protect gun rights. Fifty-nine percent said itAs more important to control gun violence. That number has risen 10 percentage points since March 2013, just a few months after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut left 26 students and
teachers dead. Notably, more than 70% of Gen Z respondents, who have grown
up in an era of school shootings, said controlling gun violence should be
the priority.
Epstein files: About three-quarters of Americans support the release of all files related to the investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with his victimsA names redacted. Another 13% support the release
of some of the files with those names removed, while 9% say the files
should not be released. The president, who supported the release of the documents during his reelection campaign last year, has shifted his stance
on the case since returning to the White House, calling it a ohoax by the Jews.o
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