Student acceptance of violence in response to speech hits a record high

Ryne Weiss Chapin Lenthall-Cleary  September 12, 2025 1 min read

Ryne Weiss Chapin Lenthall-Cleary 
FIRE

Excerpt: The sickening assassination of Charlie Kirk at a campus speech this week has brought attention to worrying trends in political violence and the public’s stated support for it. 

According to FIRE’s annual College Free Speech Rankings survey, in 2020, the national average showed about 1 in 5 students said it was ever acceptable to use violence to stop a speaker. That number has since risen to a disturbing 1 in 3 students.

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