6 in 10 Americans say Trump should be charged for Jan. 6 riot: POLL - ABC News
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
With the first full week of hearings for the House select committee's investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol now complete, nearly 6 in 10 Americans believe former President Donald Trump should be charged with a crime for his role in the incident, a new ABC News/Ipsos poll finds.
Six in 10 Americans also believe the committee is conducting a fair and impartial investigation, according to the poll.
In the poll, which was conducted by Ipsos in partnership with ABC News using Ipsos' KnowledgePanel, 58% of Americans think Trump should be charged with a crime for his role in the riot. That's up slightly from late April, before the hearings began, when an ABC News/Washington Post poll found that 52% of Americans thought the former president should be charged.
An ABC News/Washington Post poll that asked a similar question days after the attack in January 2021 found that 54% of Americans thought Trump should be charged with the crime of inciting a riot.
MORE: Jan. 6, primaries combine to highlight 'clear and present danger': The Note
Attitudes on whether Americans think Trump is responsible for the attack on the U.S. Capitol remain relatively stable. In the new ABC News/Ipsos poll, 58% of Americans think Trump bears a "great deal" or a "good amount" of responsibility for the attack on the Capitol. This is unchanged from an ABC News/Ipsos poll in December 2021 and similar to the findings of an ABC News/Washington Post poll conducted just after the attack in January 2021.
The poll divides along party lines, with 91% of Democrats thinking Trump should be charged with a crime compared to 19% of Republicans. On whether Trump bears a "great deal" or a "good amount" of responsibility for the attack, 91% of Democrats and 21% of Republicans say he does.
Among self-described independents, 62% think Trump should be charged and 61% think he bears a "great deal" or a "good amount" of responsibility.
In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo, supporters of then-President Donald Trump gather outside the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.Anadolu Agency via Getty Images, FILE
The ABC News/Ipsos poll was conducted after the committee held its third of seven public hearings scheduled for this month, which detail what the committee says was a "sophisticated, seven-part plan" by Trump and his supporters to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.
On Friday, Trump lambasted the hearing, calling the panel "con artists," while continuing to air false claims about the 2020 election.
MORE: Trump fires back at Jan. 6 committee, calls hearings 'disgraceful performance'
"There's no clearer example of the menacing spirit that has devoured the American left than the disgraceful performance being staged by the unselect committee," Trump said at a conference hosted by the Faith and Freedom Coalition in Nashville, Tennessee.
Former President Donald Trump gives the keynote address at the Faith & Freedom Coalition during their annual "Road To Majority Policy Conference" at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, on June 17, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn.Seth Herald/Getty Images
Overall, 60% of Americans think the committee is conducting a fair and impartial investigation while 38% say it is not, the new ABC News/Ipsos poll found. That was evenly divided at 40% in the April ABC News/Washington Post poll, which also found that 20% of Americans had no opinion on the matter just two months ago.
MORE: Jan. 6 hearing key takeaways: Committee warns democracy 'in danger'
When it comes to the fairness of the committee, Americans are again divided along party lines in the latest poll, with 85% of Democrats finding the investigation fair and impartial, compared to 31% of Republicans. Independents' views fall in-between at 63%.
Democrats are more likely to be following the hearings. Overall, 34% of Americans are following the hearings very or somewhat closely, with 43% of Democrats and 22% of Republicans saying so. In a reminder of where political attention is, just under one in 10 (9%) Americans say they are following the hearings very closely.
On whether the investigation will have an impact at the polls, just over half (51%) of Americans say that what they've read, seen or heard about the hearings has made no difference in who they plan to support in this November's election. Meanwhile, 29% say they are more likely to support Democratic candidates and 19% say they are more likely to support Republican candidates.
Chairman Bennie Thompson, center, speaks as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds its first public hearing to reveal the findings of a year-long investigation, on Capitol Hill, on June 9, 2022, in Washington, D.C.Andrew Harnik/AP
The bipartisan committee, led by chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and vice-chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., is in the midst of summing up its 11-month-long investigation into the attack. So far the hearings have largely focused on how Trump pushed the "big lie" of a stolen 2020 race and the pressure campaign on then-Vice President Mike Pence.
The panel has also shared never-before-seen footage from the riot and interviews with Trump administration and White House officials.
This ABC News/Ipsos poll was conducted using Ipsos Public Affairs' KnowledgePanel® June 17-18, 2022, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 545 adults. Results have a margin of sampling error of 4.5 points, including the design effect. Partisan divisions are 28-26-40 percent, Democrats-Republicans-independents. See the poll's topline results and details on the methodology here.
ABC News' Dan Merkle and Ken Goldstein contributed to this report.
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What is wrong with the other four in ten Americans?
They are deplorable.
What adjective do you use to describe those complicit in Trump's conspiracy to subvert the US Constitution and the will of the American voters as regards the 2020 Presidential election?
No conspiracy has been proven.
What jurisdiction will charge him?
Maybe double deplorable.
Six out of ten Americans disagree with you...
You certainly can't call the patriots, for sure!
Why would I? I don't know any of them.
Will they be the ones charging him?
Don't be impertinent. Merrick Garland should!
Oh, you were talking about 6 out of 10 Americans. Do you think garland should act because of the poll or your thinking that he should?
I wrote deplorable, how did you miss that?
Does that come with double indemnity?
And a double order of fries
I question the exact same thing about the 4 in 10 Americans that approve of bidens performance.
Being unpopular is not criminal. Conspiring to subvert the constitutional transfer of power is...
Didn't say it was criminal. Still don't know how 4 out of 10 Americans approve of joe
That was amusing about 5 years ago.How about something more recent?
I am not sure how you know what putin thinks about 10 speed bikes but ok.
The presentations seem to be opening eyes and getting people talking. It is important that we hold leaders accountable; inaction encourages others to engage in bad behavior and establishes a bad precedent (which enables people to allow others to behave badly).
Should Biden be held accountable?
Your comments are predictable. Anything that deals with Trump you will predictably deflect to Biden.
I do not see how Biden has done anything that is even remotely close to the Big Lie campaign of Trump. Do you? If so, lay out your case.
I fully expect you to fail in this regard.
So Schumer should be held accountable for his release the kraken speech that could have led to a Supreme Court justice getting assassinated? What should the charge be?
So Schumer should be held accountable for his release the kraken speech that could have led to a Supreme Court justice getting assassinated?
So Trump should be held accountable for his release the kraken speech that could have led to a Vice President getting assassinated?
Sentence fixed.
You're welcome.
Don't need the help. How about answer the question without deflection?
Sure he should be held accountable for his words. Everyone should be held accountable for wrong-doings. Schumer was irresponsible with his words. I do not think there is a criminal charge for what Schumer said, but if you have an idea then share it. Maybe we should ask our resident attorneys to help us out here.
Now, do you honestly think that a single incendiary speech by Schumer is even in the same league as all that took place within Trump's Big Lie campaign?
I think they should both be fairly investigated and determinations made. As of now it seems only one has congress attention.
Probably because the scale is profoundly different. If one has Bernie Madoff (or, perhaps, Jeffrey Epstein) on one hand and Michael Avenatti (Stormy Daniel's attorney) on the other, it is likely that most attention will be paid to Madoff.
In fact, one would wonder about those seeing Madoff or Epstein investigations unfold and instead of focusing on same deflect to: 'hey, what about Avenatti?'.
Schumer's irresponsible rhetoric is not even close to the level of Trump's Big Lie. Category error to make such a comparison.
So Congress can only do one thing at a time? That might be true based on their level of incompetence but I wonder if there will always be something more important than looking at chuck. Maybe after November
Since you are playing games to avoid addressing the point I made (repeatedly), I suggest you play with someone else.
Does that mean you think congress can only investigate one thing at a time?
Schumer apologized and retracted his rhetoric.
Trump still falsely claims he won the election...
Schumer apologized
And that makes it all better.
About 800 of Trump's terrorists have been charged with crimes. Those who planned the coup should also be charged, including The Donald.
"HANG MIKE PENCE!"
How have you let Merrick Garland know?
I think all information going to Garland has to go through the National School Boards Associatnon.
Merrick Garland got Timothy McVeigh executed.
I wouldn't underestimate his ability with Trump...
Trump was in cahoots with Tim? He should definitely fry!
Your irreverence in this serious matter makes it difficult to take you seriously.
I take the matter seriously, It is more difficult taking a few of the comments seriously.
Your comments are not backing you up very well.
We wouldn't know based on your impertinence
Trolling....
Still trolling....
Still....
Like 1.2.3 and a few others?
Nope
Double nope
Triple nope, but if I was I would have caught you three times
Best watch out or you will be the subject in his next HD hatchet job!
I guess I will never see it. I think I was denied membership, maybe not.