A new poll from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, found that more college students support violence to shut down a speaker than they did in recent years. The 2026 College Free Speech Rankings survey found that number is especially rising amongst students who identify as Republicans.
Speakers and violence
The new survey shows students identifying as Republicans now outnumber Democrats when it comes to justifying violence to stop a speaker.
Specifically, FIRE asked students whether they think it’s ever acceptable to use violence to stop a speaker.
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For Republicans, that number now sits around 35% while it’s around 30% for Democrats. The poll shows Democrats have favored this tactic historically, but that’s changed in recent years.
Students from both parties agreed that using violence is rarely acceptable, but that number has consistently climbed, especially amongst Republicans.
‘The heckler’s veto’
The poll also shows Republicans have embraced the so-called “heckler’s veto” in recent years. That’s when an audience uses shouting to shut down speakers.
For example, students at the University of New Mexico did just that to conservative speaker Tomi Lahren two years ago.
Democrats are still more likely to use that tactic, with the poll showing around 80% of students saying it’s an acceptable tactic at times. That number is 60% for Republicans, but that’s up from under 40% just five years ago.
FIRE keeps a database of these incidents. They found there were 174 deplatforming attempts last year and 84 so far this year.
The latest came just recently as Democratic students at Utah State University push back against an event featuring Charlie Kirk, the founder of conservative student organization Turning Point USA.
What comes next?
This survey comes out as students have just returned to campuses across the country for the fall semester.
That comes amid a rise in partisanship across America.
Recent events have also led to a significant increase in student involvement in political protests over the last year. That includes the violence in the Gaza Strip, which has been a powder keg for student protests and the ensuing pushback from the Trump administration.
