5 percent of Americans say force justified to put Trump back in office: poll

by Julia Shapero - 09/28/22 10:27 AM ET

Five percent of Americans in a new poll said they believe force would be justified to restore former President Trump to the White House, even if it resulted in injuries or deaths.

The poll, from the University of Chicago’s Chicago Project on Security and Threats (CPOST), estimates that about 13 million people continue to view force as a justified means of retaking the White House, CPOST Director Robert Pape told CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

The latest numbers come more than a year and a half after a violent mob stormed the Capitol in an effort to halt the certification of the 2020 presidential election. Rioters breached Capitol security, broke windows, damaged offices and attacked Capitol Police on duty.

The number of those who believe force is warranted to keep Trump in the White House is down from polling in September 2021. At the time, 10 percent of respondents supported using force to restore Trump to office.

However, the portion of Americans who believe the 2020 election was stolen from Trump and that President Biden is an illegitimate president has remained relatively unchanged. Twenty-two percent said they believe the 2020 election was stolen, down just 2 points from last September.

The poll also found that 10 percent of respondents viewed the individuals that participated in the Jan. 6 riot as “patriots.”

Hundreds of individuals have been charged in relation to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, including several members of far-right militia groups like the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys who have been charged with seditious conspiracy.

The trial of Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes and several other members began on Tuesday. The Justice Department is seeking to obtain a guilty verdict for seditious conspiracy for the first time in nearly 30 years.