Most Americans think Trump should be charged with a crime for Jan. 6

Scott Olson/Getty Images
Photo credit Scott Olson/Getty Images

WASHINGTON (KNX) — It has been nearly a year-and-a-half since the failed insurrection attempt at the Capitol. A new poll shows American attitudes about former President Donald Trump’s culpability for the day’s events have not wavered much on either side.

The poll, conducted by The Washington Post and ABC News, shows that 52% of all American adults believe Trump should be charged with a crime for inciting the riot that resulted in multiple dead Capitol Police officers. In comparison, 42% think he should not.

A similar poll conducted by the same two organizations just six days after the riots found a very similar result. At that time, 54% believed Trump should be charged, and 43% said he should not.

The poll breaks down as one might expect along party lines as the divisive political atmosphere continues to hold sway across the country.

Of all Democrats polled, 88% say Trump should be held criminally liable in at least some fashion for the events of January 6, while just 11% of Republicans have that opinion.

Conversely, 86% of Republicans believe Trump is not responsible for the riots, a belief held by just 8% of Democrats polled.

As for independents, 56% say the former President should be handed down some criminal responsibility for the insurrection, against 38% who believe he is not responsible.

Respondents were also asked whether the House of Representatives’ January 6 Committee is conducting a fair investigation. The results showed an American public split right down the middle: 40% said yes, 40% said no, and 20% had no opinion.

Again, the split was reasonably predictable along party lines for the majority-Democrat committee: Democrats came out 68% in favor of the investigation being fair and just 18% disagreeing, while only 15% of Republicans say the inquiry is fair compared to 69% believing it to be biased.

Again, independents were split pretty evenly: 39% say fair, 38% say unfair.

The poll was conducted from April 24 to April 28 among a random sample size of 1,004 American adults by phone, according to The Washington Post.

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Featured Image Photo Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images