NEW POLL: 58% of Americans Believe Trump Should Face Criminal Charges Over Jan. 6
Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images.
A new poll finds that most Americans think former President Donald Trump was responsible for the events of Jan. 6 and should face criminal charges.
ABC News and Ipsos conducted a study with 545 adults in the last 2 days, which follows the three hearings that the January 6 Committee held so far to break down the storming of the U.S. Capitol. The poll finds that 60 percent of people believe the committee’s investigation has been “fair and impartial.” Meanwhile 46 percent of people believe Trump bears “great” responsibility for the Capitol riot, 12 percent say a “good” amount of responsibility, and 17 percent say “just some” responsibility.
The poll results indicate that American public opinion about January 6th has mostly remained stable — as it pertains to Trump’s culpability. Only 34 percent of Americans are closely watching the committee’s hearings according to the data, but 58 percent of people believe that Trump should be charged with a crime for his role in the Capitol riot.
From ABC:
The poll divides along party lines, with 91 percent of Democrats thinking Trump should be charged with a crime compared to 19 percent of Republicans. On whether Trump bears a “great deal” or a “good amount” of responsibility for the attack, 91 percent of Democrats and 21% of Republicans say he does.
Among self-described independents, 62 percent think Trump should be charged and 61% think he bears a “great deal” or a “good amount” of responsibility.
The study comes after a number of recent polls showed Republicans and Fox News viewers are more likely to believe that Trump acted appropriately on January 6, and President Joe Biden was not the legitimate victor of the 2020 election. On a separate but related note, most Americans seem to believe that overturning the results of the election is a crime, though news outlets seemingly continue to mold public opinion about whether the election was “rigged,” as Trump has repeatedly (and falsely) claimed.
