What issues would lead Americans to protest?
More than 2,000 people have been arrested for engaging in pro-palestinian protests on college campuses since April 18, but few Americans are willing to do the same, a new exclusive poll found.
A small percentage of Americans said they were willing to protest over foreign conflicts, even if it meant getting arrested, a USA Today/suffolk University poll found.
But what about issues not involving foreign conflicts? What debates or controversies would Americans consider being arrested for in a divided country?
Voters surveyed by USA TODAY and Suffolk were evenly split on whether they would risk arrest for any political issue, with 48% responding yes and 48% responding no.
The national poll of 1,000 people was conducted by landline and cellphone last Tuesday through Friday and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
When survey respondents were asked what issues would motivate them to protest – even if it meant risking arrest – only 4% said they would demonstrate over the Israel-hamas war or Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But many Americans still support the college students and other activists who have been arrested in the recent weeks of sweeping pro-palestinian protests and campus encampments. Among poll respondents, 19% said they support the protests and 24% said they support their demands but oppose the protesters’ conduct, while 46% said they oppose the pro-palestinian protests outright.
Some feel the students arrested on campuses have been stripped of their First Amendment rights. Brett Watchorn, 36, a shipping clerk and political independent from Denver, called the arrests “sickening.”
“If I was their age, I’d be right there on the picket line with them,” Watchorn said.
About 8% said women’s rights and abortion rights would motivate them to protest, even if they would be arrested. That was the top issue cited by survey respondents.
One of those respondents, Natalie Johnson, a 60-year-old retired teacher in Brooklyn, New York, said she believes abortion rights shouldn’t be regulated by the law.
“What happens to my body happens to my body, you can’t generalize that. So to put it under the law doesn’t seem correct to me,” said Johnson, a Democrat who plans to vote for Biden. “It should be my choice. It’s my body.”
Abortion rights are prominent in the 2024 election. Former President Donald Trump has said he believes states should enforce their own restrictions, while President Joe Biden is campaigning on restoring the rights guaranteed under Roe v. Wade.
USA Today/suffolk found that 3% of respondents would protest because they oppose extending abortion rights.
The only other issue that more than 5% of survey respondents said would motivate them to protest were issues surrounding civil rights, police brutality and Black Lives Matter.
All other issues that would lead Americans to risk arrest got less than 5% support. For instance, only 3% of survey respondents chose immigration policies as an issue that would motivate them to demonstrate, despite heated public debate.
Democracy, which both former Trump and Biden have claimed is on the line, is also not an issue most registered voters would demonstrate for: Only 2% of respondents chose this option.
Only 4% said they would demonstrate over the Israel-hamas war or Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.