A recent study reveals that a stunning number of Americans actually support violence against President Donald Trump in order to keep him from returning to the White House.

More than 26 million.

And the results are being cited by a constitutional expert who is warning that those who now are “toying” with such extremism could end up the targets of extremists.

The numbers are from political science teacher Robert Pape’s “Political Violence and the Election: Assessing the threat from the Left and the Right.”

The June results show that, with a margin of error of about 3%, those 26 million say the “use of force is justified to prevent Trump from becoming president.”

The violence and lawfare against Trump, in fact, has generated a faction of some 18 million who also say the use of force is justified to “restore Trump to the presidency.”

The study noted those 26 million are “active, dangerous” and have “growth potential.”

Nine million of them, for example, own guns, and five million have attended a protest over the last 12 months.

It is a threatening situation, according to Jonathan Turley, the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University, author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage,” and frequent witness before Congress on the Constitution.

He cited a number of politicians working with leftist, and sometimes extreme, groups.

“These politicians are playing a dangerous game in toying with groups like Antifa, which will not stop at threatening their opponents. Politicians like (Minneapolis council member Jeremiah) Ellison could easily find themselves the next target as groups seek to ‘strike fear in in the heart’ of the establishment.”

He called the poll results “a chilling account of the growing radicalism in America, particularly after the second foiled assassination attempt of former president Donald Trump.”

In fact, since then multiple organizations have published long lists of individuals, including politicians, celebrities and officials, who have threatened Trump, some calling for his death including one that told a suspected assassin to take shooting lessons to not miss again.

“For some, violent language can become violent action. There is a normalization that can occur as extreme actions become more acceptable to more and more citizens,” Turley noted.

He quoted from his own book: “We are living in an age of rage. It permeates every aspect of our society and politics. Rage is liberating, even addictive. It allows us to say and do things that we would ordinarily avoid, even denounce in others. Rage is often found at the farthest extreme of reason. For those who agree with the underlying message, it is righteous and passionate. For those who disagree, it is dangerous and destabilizing.”

He pointed to the “unrelenting claims of President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and others that democracy is about to die in America,” explaining “some now feel a license to commit criminal acts in the name of ‘saving democracy.'”

In fact, twice-failed Democrat presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, even after the second assassination attempt against Trump, was on the stump with her favorite message over the years: Trump is a threat.

But Turley said, “It is the ultimate form of self-delusion that one saves democracy by committing political violence against those with whom you disagree.”

He cited the attitude as coming from “higher education” into “society at large.”

“Years ago, many of us were shocked by the conduct of University of Missouri communications professor Melissa Click who directed a mob against a student journalist covering a Black Lives Matter event. Yet, Click was hired by Gonzaga University. Since that time, we have seen a steady stream of professors joining students in shouting down, committing property damage, participating in riots, verbally attacking students, or even taking violent action in protests,” he said.

Now it’s common for “professors” to support “strangling police officers, celebrating the death of conservatives, calling for the killing of Trump supporters” and more.

He pointed out, “While Democratic leaders have condemned the second assassination attempt on Trump, they have continued the unhinged rhetoric of how this may be our last election and democracy is about to die in America.”

And they’ve “allied themselves” to violent groups.

One of those is Antifa.

“Former Democratic National Committee deputy chair Keith Ellison, now the Minnesota attorney general, once said Antifa would ‘strike fear in the heart’ of Trump. This was after Antifa had been involved in numerous acts of violence and its website was banned in Germany. Ellison’s son, Minneapolis City Council member Jeremiah Ellison, declared his allegiance to Antifa in the heat of violent protests,” he noted.

Bob Unruh

Bob Unruh joined WND in 2006 after nearly three decades with the Associated Press, as well as several Upper Midwest newspapers, where he covered everything from legislative battles and sports to tornadoes and homicidal survivalists. He is also a photographer whose scenic work has been used commercially. Read more of Bob Unruh's articles here.