The public’s support for protests against police brutality has plummeted after months of riots that have caused billions of dollars in damage to major American cities.
A poll released Wednesday by The Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that public support for protests that broke out after the death of George Floyd in May has declined drastically to 39% from 54% in June. The poll shows that 44% of Americans disapprove of the protests.
The poll was conducted on Sept. 11-14. Surveys were given to 1,108 adults online and over the phone. The margin of error for the poll results is +/- 4.0 percentage points.
Among black Americans, support for the protests has dropped 18 points from 81% in July to 63% on Wednesday. A similar drop has taken place among white Americans whose support for the protests has fallen from 53% to 34%.
The poll found that the percentage of adults who consider the protests to be mostly peaceful or a mix of peaceful and violent has fallen several points while the number of adults who consider the protests to be mostly violent has jumped eight points from June (22%) to September (30%). Read more…