2 in 3 say Jan. 6 attacks not an isolated incident: poll

Two in three Americans surveyed in a new poll said the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol was not an isolated incident.

The CBS News poll released Sunday found that 68 percent of respondents said that they believe the attack is a sign of increasing political violence in the country, while 32 percent of said it was isolated. 

Sixty-six percent also said U.S. democracy is threatened one year after the attack, while 33 percent said that U.S. democracy is secure. 

Pollsters found that an overwhelming majority of Democrats — 81 percent — said they strongly disapprove of the events at the Capitol, with 34 percent of Republicans agreeing. 

When asked to describe what happened at the Capitol, 85 percent of Democrats surveyed said it was an insurrection and an attempt to overthrow the government.  By comparison, 21 percent of Republicans said the Capitol attack was an insurrection and 18 percent said it was an attempt to overthrow the government. 

Forty-one percent of all respondents also agreed that former President Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol, while just 9 percent of Republicans said the same thing, pollsters noted. 

The survey was released just days before the one-year anniversary of Jan 6, when Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol as Congress was certifying President Biden’s electoral victory. 

The new poll of 2,063 adults was conducted between Dec. 27-30. Its results have a margin of error of 2.6 percentage points.