Political violence in America is not just a relic of the past. From the attempted assassinations of Donald Trump to the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, to the burning of Teslas in protest of Elon Musk, political violence is a present-day reality. More than 9,000 threats have been made against members of Congress this year—a “huge increase,” according to officials.

Are these events aberrations or do they reflect a national problem? Are they connected? And does the public support them?

A new report from our group, the Network Contagion Research Institute, provides answers. Our research, based on nationally representative surveys and analyses of online activity, demonstrates the existence of online subcultures that support the murder of public figures like Trump and Musk. This “assassination culture,” incubated on social media, has migrated from the margins of public life into the mainstream.

We found that nearly one-third of Americans surveyed—and around half of those identifying as left-of-center—believe that the murder of certain public figures is at least somewhat justified. The figures are startling: 38 percent of respondents, and 55 percent of those left of center, said assassinating President Trump would be at least somewhat justified; 31 percent of respondents, and 48 percent of those left of center, said the same about Musk. Forty percent of respondents, and 58 percent of those left of center, deem it at least somewhat acceptable to “destroy a Tesla dealership” in protest.