CBS News Poll: Opinions on the Jan. 6 Attack and Polling Results

The January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol brought immediate and overwhelming disapproval from Americans, and while most still condemn the actions, Republican disapproval has been waning over the past three years. According to a CBS News poll conducted between January 3-5, 2024, half of Republicans strongly disapproved of the actions just after the attack, but now only a third do. Meanwhile, outright approval in the party has risen.

Republicans who identify as part of the MAGA movement are nearly twice as likely as the non-MAGA wing to approve of the actions of the rioters. Over a third of Republicans endorse the conspiracy theory that those who entered the Capitol were mostly people pretending to be Trump supporters, and a sizable majority would support their pardons.

There are divergent views about what law enforcement was doing that day, with Democrats more likely than Republicans and independents to believe they were exclusively trying to stop the protest. Descriptors of the events have also shifted over the years and are as partisan today as ever.

Two-thirds of Republicans continue to support Trump’s suggestion to grant pardons to those involved in the Jan. 6 attacks. The country divides on the idea of removing Trump from the ballot if states believe he committed insurrection, with a narrow majority keeping him on election ballots.

Many Americans are uneasy about the prospects of peaceful transfer of power in America, with half the country expecting there to be violence from the side that loses in future elections. Most Americans continue to think U.S. democracy and the rule of law are under threat.

The CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,157 U.S. adult residents. The margin of error is ±2.8 points.