Younger Americans Less Worried About Political Violence and Free Speech Threats, AP-NORC Poll Finds

The numbers from a new AP-NORC poll land in a year already marked by killings. Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated in Utah, and Democratic legislators were killed in Minnesota. Against that backdrop, the poll asked Americans how worried they are about political violence, and found that the answer depends heavily on how old they are.

Overall, 44% of U.S. adults say they are extremely or very concerned about political violence aimed at conservative figures or organizations. A similar share, 41%, say the same about violence aimed at liberal figures and groups. The generational gap is wide. About half of adults 60 and older are highly concerned about violence directed at either side, compared with about 3 in 10 adults under 30.

Tony DiGiovine, a 74-year-old Democrat, retired electrical engineer and musician from Phoenix, sits on the older side of that divide. He remembers Kent State, where in 1970 the National Guard shot and killed unarmed students protesting the Vietnam War. He does not think the Guard or the armed forces are trained to patrol American streets. "Something's going to go wrong," he said. Ryan Striker, a 34-year-old music teacher in Manchester, New Hampshire, who is liberal, politically independent and opposed to President Trump, worries about a snowball effect whenever political violence occurs.

The pattern repeats on speech. About 4 in 10 adults overall are highly concerned about threats to the free speech of conservatives or liberals. Among those 60 and older, about half are highly concerned about conservatives' speech, while only about a quarter of those under 30 are. The gap is smaller for liberals' speech but still substantial.

Yet when asked about rights in general, the age divide on speech disappears. About half of Americans see a major threat to freedom of speech, and about 4 in 10 say so for freedom of the press. About 3 in 10 see major threats to the right to vote and the right to keep and bear arms. Younger adults appear to believe speech is under threat just as older ones do; they are less personally worried about what that means for liberals or conservatives. On voting, the age gap returns: only about 2 in 10 adults under 30 see a major threat, against about 4 in 10 of those 60 and older. Craig Tenhoff, 58, an independent from Simi Valley, California, said it is worrying that people stop talking and compromising and vilify opponents.

Partisanship shapes concern sharply. About 6 in 10 Republicans are highly concerned about violence against conservative figures or groups, but only 27% say so about violence against liberal ones. About 6 in 10 Democrats are highly concerned about violence against liberals, and 38% about violence against conservatives. The effect is strongest at the ideological edges: conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats are much more likely than moderates in their parties to worry about their own side being targeted. Independents are less alarmed, with about a quarter highly concerned about violence in either direction.

Max Anderson, a 23-year-old college student in Fort Collins, Colorado, who is an independent and describes himself as liberal, worries about violence from across the spectrum. He said many people his age are not doing well, and that extreme avenues of action can suddenly feel like a better option.

Party also divides views on whether rights are threatened. About two-thirds of Democrats say free speech and freedom of the press face a major threat. Only about 3 in 10 Republicans say that of speech, and about 2 in 10 of the press. Jeff Milligan, a 72-year-old Republican from Logan, Ohio, is more concerned about violence against conservatives than against liberals. He used to worry more about threats to fundamental rights. What changed? "President Trump was elected," he said.

The poll surveyed 1,289 adults from Oct. 9 to 13, drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points, which means the smaller subgroup comparisons carry wider uncertainty.