Poll: Almost half of Americans think Trump should be charged for Jan. 6
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a "Save America Rally" near the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. Photo: Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Nearly half of Americans believe former President Donald Trump should be charged with a crime for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, an AP-NORC poll out Thursday indicates.
The big picture: The poll comes as the Jan. 6 committee continues to reveal new information about Trump's role in the riot in its public hearings.
- But the poll was conducted before a surprise sixth public hearing Tuesday, which provided the most damning testimony against Trump thus far.
Driving the news: The findings indicate 48% of Americans believe Trump should be charged,. Almost the same percentage (49%) believe he bears a great deal of responsibility for the riot.
- The responses broke along party lines, with 86% of Democratic respondents believing Trump should be charged and 85% believe he bears responsibility for the attack. Only 10% of Republicans believe he should be charged, while 12% view him as responsible.
More details: More than half (56%) of respondents said they've followed news about the Jan. 6 hearings. Fewer of them (42%) said they've actually watched or listened to them.
- Democrats were more likely to say they've kept up with the hearings, with three-quarters saying they've followed news about them and 58% watching or listening to the hearings.
- On the other hand, 42% of Republicans said they've followed news about the hearings, while 27% watched or listened to them.