Table 8. Justification for political violence to advance 8 additional specific objectives, by study group (these objectives were paired, with respondents randomized 1:1 to see 1 item in each pair).
| What do you think about the use of force or violence in the following situations? | Republicans | Non-Republicans | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAGA Republicans* | Strong Republicans | Other Republicans | ||||||
| Unweighted n | Weighted % (95% CI) | Unweighted n | Weighted % (95% CI) | Unweighted n | Weighted % (95% CI) | Unweighted n | Weighted % (95% CI) | |
| To stop voter fraud | ||||||||
| Never justified | 290 | 52.4 (47.9, 57.0) | 241 | 76.7 (71.9, 81.6) | 604 | 75.6 (72.2, 79.0) | 1605 | 82.0 (79.9, 84.0) |
| Sometimes justified | 139 | 24.4 (20.5, 28.3) | 50 | 15.4 (11.2, 19.5) | 147 | 19.4 (16.2, 22.6) | 196 | 11.0 (9.4, 12.7) |
| Usually or always justified | 134 | 23.1 (19.2, 27.1) | 29 | 7.9 (4.9, 10.8) | 47 | 5.0 (3.5, 6.6) | 124 | 7.0 (5.6, 8.4) |
| To stop voter intimidation | ||||||||
| Never justified | 281 | 52.1 (47.4, 56.7) | 186 | 58.3 (52.3, 64.2) | 506 | 65.3 (61.6, 69.0) | 1223 | 61.9 (59.5, 64.3) |
| Sometimes justified | 179 | 30.6 (26.4, 34.7) | 82 | 26.2 (20.9, 31.5) | 216 | 28.6 (25.0, 32.1) | 576 | 29.2 (26.9, 31.5) |
| Usually or always justified | 100 | 17.4 (13.8, 21.0) | 52 | 15.6 (11.2, 19.9) | 50 | 6.2 (4.3, 8.0) | 184 | 8.9 (7.5, 10.3) |
| To reinforce the police | ||||||||
| Never justified | 96 | 19.5 (15.7, 23.3) | 68 | 22.3 (17.3, 27.4) | 250 | 34.2 (30.5, 38.0) | 1034 | 54.6 (52.1, 57.1) |
| Sometimes justified | 209 | 36.9 (32.4, 41.4) | 148 | 45.8 (39.9, 51.7) | 380 | 47.6 (43.8, 51.5) | 708 | 35.8 (33.4, 38.2) |
| Usually or always justified | 253 | 43.5 (38.9, 48.2) | 104 | 31.9 (26.4, 37.4) | 153 | 18.1 (15.2, 21.0) | 190 | 9.7 (8.2, 11.1) |
| To stop police violence | ||||||||
| Never justified | 285 | 50.7 (46.2, 55.2) | 183 | 55.4 (49.4, 61.4) | 411 | 50.3 (46.4, 54.2) | 873 | 41.4 (38.9, 43.8) |
| Sometimes justified | 201 | 36.1 (31.8, 40.5) | 115 | 37.6 (31.7, 43.5) | 300 | 39.7 (35.9, 43.5) | 867 | 45.1 (42.6, 47.6) |
| Usually or always justified | 79 | 13.2 (10.3, 16.0) | 22 | 6.9 (3.9, 10.0) | 76 | 10.0 (7.7, 12.3) | 236 | 13.6 (11.8, 15.4) |
| Stop illegal immigration | ||||||||
| Never justified | 140 | 26.0 (22.0, 30.0) | 129 | 42.3 (36.4, 48.2) | 417 | 54.3 (50.4, 58.1) | 1524 | 77.2 (75.0, 79.3) |
| Sometimes justified | 214 | 39.5 (35.0, 44.0) | 129 | 40.4 (34.5, 46.3) | 299 | 36.4 (32.7, 40.1) | 316 | 16.8 (14.9, 18.7) |
| Usually or always justified | 202 | 34.5 (30.1, 38.9) | 54 | 17.3 (12.8, 21.8) | 84 | 9.3 (7.2, 11.5) | 102 | 6.1 (4.8, 7.3) |
| To keep borders open | ||||||||
| Never justified | 402 | 70.4 (66.1, 74.7) | 223 | 69.7 (64.2, 75.1) | 525 | 68.7 (65.1, 72.3) | 1324 | 66.0 (63.6, 68.5) |
| Sometimes justified | 95 | 17.2 (13.7, 20.6) | 71 | 19.5 (15.1, 24.0) | 187 | 23.9 (20.6, 27.2) | 534 | 27.9 (25.6, 30.2) |
| Usually or always justified | 67 | 12.5 (9.2, 15.8) | 32 | 10.8 (6.8, 14.8) | 56 | 7.4 (5.4, 9.4) | 108 | 6.1 (4.8, 7.3) |
| To stop a protest | ||||||||
| Never justified | 214 | 38.6 (34.2, 43.1) | 142 | 46.1 (40.2, 52.0) | 379 | 51.5 (47.6, 55.5) | 1323 | 67.9 (65.5, 70.3) |
| Sometimes justified | 272 | 49.6 (45.0, 54.2) | 155 | 45.8 (40.0, 51.7) | 335 | 43.5 (39.5, 47.4) | 543 | 28.2 (25.9, 30.4) |
| Usually or always justified | 72 | 11.7 (8.8, 14.7) | 27 | 8.1 (5.0, 11.3) | 36 | 5.0 (3.3, 6.7) | 68 | 3.9 (2.8, 5.0) |
| To support a protest | ||||||||
| Never justified | 466 | 81.4 (77.9, 85.0) | 278 | 87.2 (83.0, 91.4) | 685 | 83.2 (80.4, 86.1) | 1558 | 76.3 (74.1, 78.5) |
| Sometimes justified | 77 | 14.2 (11.0, 17.4) | 27 | 8.8 (5.3, 12.3) | 115 | 14.4 (11.8, 17.1) | 336 | 19.0 (17.0, 21.1) |
| Usually or always justified | 23 | 4.3 (2.5, 6.2) | 11 | 4.0 (1.5, 6.6) | 19 | 2.3 (1.2, 3.4) | 79 | 4.7 (3.6, 5.8) |
* Denotes self-identified Republicans who voted for Donald Trump in 2020 and agreed strongly or very strongly with the statement that “the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump, and Joe Biden is an illegitimate president.”