Saturday is the third anniversary of January 6, the day Donald Trump incited an insurrection on the Capitol in order to nullify an election he lost. The country is still dealing with the fallout, and much is still unknown: Will Trump pay for his crimes? Will his co-conspirators? Will Trump be able to finish the job by seizing power this election cycle? But one dark outcome is coming more into focus: Republican voters are increasingly silencing their doubts about political violence, and are joining Trump's effort to rewrite history to portray January 6 in a positive light.
The Washington Post and University of Maryland conducted extensive polling about American attitudes regarding January 6, timed for the third anniversary. What they found is alarming, but unsurprising to anyone who understands the trajectories of authoritarian movements. Larger numbers of Republican voters embrace both conspiracy theories to minimize January 6 and the view that political violence is fine if it's their own people doing it.
