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Views on political violence

Source reportMethodology

Overview

Political violence is not just narrowly unpopular in this survey. Adults reject it across both versions of the scenario.

About 86% say it is unacceptable for someone to physically assault another person in support of a political cause they agree with. About 82% say assault is unacceptable when the cause is one they disagree with.

Stacked breakdown

86% say assault for a political cause they agree with is unacceptable.

How acceptable would it be for someone to physically assault another person in support of a political cause you agree with (e.g., abortion, gun rights, gender-affirming care)?

Completely unacceptable
78.1%
Somewhat unacceptable
7.9%
Neither unacceptable nor acceptable
7.1%
Somewhat acceptable
4.7%
Completely acceptable
2.2%

2026 · base n 504 · +/- 4.6%

politics

View source data

Supportive causes do not make assault acceptable

When the political cause is one respondents agree with, 78% call assault completely unacceptable and another 8% call it somewhat unacceptable.

Only about 7% say assault is acceptable in that aligned-cause scenario.

Stacked breakdown

82% say assault for a political cause they disagree with is unacceptable.

How acceptable would it be for someone to physically assault another person in support of a political cause you disagree with (e.g., abortion, gun rights, gender-affirming care)?

Completely unacceptable
77.4%
Somewhat unacceptable
4.8%
Neither unacceptable nor acceptable
11.5%
Somewhat acceptable
3.6%
Completely acceptable
2.7%

2026 · base n 496 · +/- 4.7%

politics

View source data

Opposition to the cause does not change the pattern

The rejection is similar when the political cause is one respondents disagree with: 77% say assault is completely unacceptable and 5% say it is somewhat unacceptable.

Acceptance remains low in that scenario too, at about 6%.

The result is a broad boundary

The paired questions suggest that the boundary is about political violence itself, not only about whether respondents like the cause involved.

Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Population
US adults age 18+
Field dates
2026-05-11 → 2026-05-11
Base (unweighted)
1,000
Margin of error
+/- 4.6%
Module
politics
Sponsor
Verasight
Weight variable
weight
Weighting targets
age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, metropolitan status

Sources

[2]
  • 01
    How acceptable would it be for someone to physically assault another person in support of a political cause you agree with (e.g., abortion, gun rights, gender-affirming care)?Shows acceptability of physical assault for a political cause the respondent agrees with.reports.verasight.io/reports/spsp26
  • 02
    How acceptable would it be for someone to physically assault another person in support of a political cause you disagree with (e.g., abortion, gun rights, gender-affirming care)?Shows acceptability of physical assault for a political cause the respondent disagrees with.reports.verasight.io/reports/spsp26

Citation

Verasight SPSP Omnibus Survey #2026-045, fielded May 11-11, 2026, N=504 US adults age 18+, +/- 4.6%.

https://reports.verasight.io/reports/spsp26#q-politics-29_a

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. Each wave's specific field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that wave's report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
Every wave is published as a standalone report at verasight.io/reports with full instrument and methodology.
Transparency
AAPOR transparency standards.

Wave-specific methodology, full weighting variable lists, and verbatim instrument text live in each report at verasight.io/reports.