The American people are legitimately shocked by the assassination of Charlie Kirk in front of his wife and children on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah with near universal condemnation of the killing and support for the family and friends.
Emphasis on near universal, with new polling showing that 10 percent of Americans think that political violence, like that which claimed Kirk’s life, can “sometimes” be justified, according to a Sept. 12 to Sept. 15 poll by Economist-YouGov.
Unsurprisingly, this violent impulse skews heavily towards younger, male Americans — who also comprise the vast majority of violent crimes.
14 percent of males say political violence could sometimes be justified, compared to just 7 percent of females who said the same.
Similarly, 15 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds and 13 percent of 30-to-44-year-olds said that violence could be justified, compared to 8 percent of 45-to-64-year-olds and 6 percent of seniors.
This confirms the so-called “age-crime curve” wherein violent crime peaks among teens and those in their early 20s and then declines thereafter.
The tendency to support political violence also breaks down along partisan and ideological grounds.
16 percent of Kamala Harris voters say political violence can sometimes be justified, compared to 5 percent of Donald Trump voters.
And 20 percent of liberal voters say political violence can be justified, compared to 7 percent of moderates and 7 percent of conservatives. Further breakdowns show that 25 percent of those self-described as very liberal support violence, compared to just 3 percent of those who say they are very conservative.
Similarly, 12 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds and 11 percent of 30-to-44-year-olds say it is okay to celebrate the death of somebody they don’t like, compared to 6 percent of 45-to-64-year-olds and 5 percent of seniors.
And so do 24 percent of those very liberal, 10 percent of those liberal, 7 percent of those moderate, 4 percent of those conservative and 3 percent of those very conservative.
Younger people tend to be more liberal than those older and so the biggest predicter again is age. Perspective. Wisdom that is in shorter supply with youth.
In the days following the murder of Kirk, there has been much discussion about our political discussions and their tone as is normal after something like this happens. More emphasis should be placed specifically on young people being exposed to calls for political violence, as this is the group that is most vulnerable to this type of radicalization and the most likely to act upon it.
Democrats tend to do better with younger Americans, and so, the tendency is going to be that acts of political violence, whether it be the nationwide riots in 2020 that followed the death of George Floyd or to oppose President Donald Trump’s immigration policies in the Los Angeles riots in 2025, will simply be more common from that side of the political spectrum and must therefore take the most care in messaging.
If the parties ever flip on age, then maybe the public support for political violence will go the other way. But for now, this is where the danger lies.
Young people tend to be more violent than older people. That is historically true, too. And so, it is to young people particularly that the message against violence and in favor of the civil society and debate should be had — precisely the young people that Charlie Kirk was talking to when he was murdered who need that message of peace now more than ever.
Robert Romano is the Executive Director of Americans for Limited Government Foundation.
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