October 29, 2025
The public is concerned about threats to constitutional rights, in particular the freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Half of the public says the freedom of speech is facing a major threat and 4 in 10 say the same about freedom of the press. The public is less concerned about threats to the right to vote or the right to keep and bear arms.
There are some partisan divisions about threats to constitutional rights. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to believe freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and the right to vote are under major threat. In turn, Republicans have more concerns about the right to keep and bear arms.
About 4 in 10 are “extremely” or “very” concerned about political violence directed against political figures and threats to ideological speech.
The public is similarly concerned about violence toward both liberal and conservative figures or organizations. Four in 10 are concerned, 3 in 10 are somewhat concerned, and one quarter are not concerned.
The public is also aligned regarding threats to free speech across the ideological spectrum. Four in 10 are concerned, one quarter are somewhat concerned, and 3 in 10 are not concerned about threats to either liberal or conservative free speech.
Partisans express more concern about threats to free speech or violence against their own ideological group. Republicans are concerned about violence toward conservatives or threats to their speech, while Democrats are concerned about the same for liberals.
Across the board, younger adults are less concerned about political violence or threats to free speech. Approximately one-third of younger adults are extremely or very concerned about political violence toward both liberals and conservatives compared with close to half of those age 45 and older. Similarly, one third of younger adults are concerned about threats to ideological speech compared with about 4 in 10 of older adults.
The nationwide poll was conducted October 9-13, 2025 using the AmeriSpeak® Panel, the probability-based panel of NORC at the University of Chicago. Online and telephone interviews using landlines and cell phones were conducted with 1,289 adults. The overall margin of sampling error is +/- 3.8 percentage points. Hispanic adults were sampled at a higher rate than their proportion of the population for reasons of analysis. The overall margin of sampling error for the 378 interviews completed with Hispanic respondents is +/- 6.9 percentage points.
- Suggested Citation: AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. “Many concerned about political violence and threats to free speech across the ideological spectrum.” (October 2025). https://apnorc.org/projects/many-concerned-about-political-violence-and-threats-to-free-speech-across-the-ideological-spectrum/
