Younger Americans are less concerned than their older counterparts about the potential for political violence in the country, according to a survey released Wednesday.
Overall, approximately 4 in 10 respondents said they were concerned about political violence — including 44 percent who were concerned about attacks directed at conservative political figures or groups and 41 percent concerned about liberal figures or groups, the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Research Center found.
The numbers show a divergence in viewpoints held by adults younger than 45 and those who are older.
Those concerned about political violence directed at conservatives include 50 percent of older adults and 37 percent of younger adults. Those concerned about political violence against liberals include 44 percent of those older than 45 and 36 percent of those below that threshold.
Similar patterns appear when respondents were asked about their concerns about threats to free speech. Overall, 40 percent said they worry about threats to conservatives’ speech —including 45 percent of older adults and 33 percent of younger adults — while 39 percent were concerned about threats to liberals’ speech — including 43 percent of older adults and 34 percent of younger adults.
The survey comes as political violence in the country has been on the rise in recent years, culminating in the public assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot last month at an outdoor event on a college campus in Utah while engaging with students.
The AP-NORC survey was conducted Oct. 9-13 and included 1,289 adults. The margin of error is 3.8 percentage points.
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