Poll: Majority of Americans believe Jan. 6 Capitol riot was an attack on democracy

A Trump supporter in the Capitol on Jan. 6.

(Image credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

published 28 May 2021

A majority of Americans think that when supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 as lawmakers voted to certify President Biden's election win, it was an attack on democracy, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday.

Of the respondents, 55 percent said it was an "attack on democracy that should never be forgotten," while 39 percent said "too much is being made of" the riot and it's "time to move on." Looking at it through a political lens, 84 percent of Democrats surveyed said the riot was an attack on democracy and 74 percent of Republicans said too much is being made of it.

Dozens of law enforcement officers were injured during the violent incident, and one of the rioters was shot and killed by police as she attempted to enter the Speaker's Lobby through a broken door. The House passed a bill to establish a bipartisan independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 riot, but Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is encouraging Republicans to block the legislation.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.