Results of a new survey find a sharp rise in support among wealthy, educated, politically independent and science-loving Americans for harassing and threatening public health officials over the lockdown of businesses during COVID-19.
The survey of 1,086 adults was published Friday in JAMA Network Open. It found that the overall share who believed harassing or threatening public health officials because of business closures was justified rose from 20% to 25% and 15% to 21%, respectively, from November 2020 to July and August 2021.
Men who earned less than $35,000 a year and did not “trust science” were the likeliest to support harassing or threatening public health officials, according to the survey.