More than half of U.S. adults (57%) say events like the storming of the Capitol are likely to happen again in the next few years a year after the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. FGH’s Research and Insights team looked at recent polling around the anniversary to gauge cross-party attitudes towards the attack and its aftermath:

• Nearly three quarters (72%) say the people involved in the attack on the Capitol were mostly threatening democracy, while 25% think they were protecting democracy. 
  • 58% of U.S. adults think Donald Trump bears a great deal or a good amount of responsibility for the attack, whereas 41% believe he has just some responsibility or none at all. 

• Over half of U.S. adults (51%) think the legal punishments for people who broke into the U.S. Capitol have not been harsh enough while 19% think they have been too harsh and 28% believe they have been fair. 

• 63% say the event last year has at least temporarily changed the way Americans think about their democratic government, with Democrats (81%) more likely than Republicans (52%) to agree. 

• 89% of Democrats believe the incident at the U.S. Capitol last year to be an insurrection, compared to half that—45%— of Republicans who say it was a political protest. An additional 35% of Republicans say it was unfortunate but not something to worry about in the future. 

• Fewer Republicans consider the January 6 attack a threat to democracy in 2022 (18%) than they did in 2021 (24%). They are also less likely to blame Joe Biden for the attack than they were a year ago, with 33% placing a great deal of blame on him in 2021 compared to 26% who feel the same in 2022.