The New Racial Spillover: Donald Trump, Racial Attitudes, and Public Opinion Toward Accountability for Perpetrators and Planners of the January 6 Capitol Attack.

This article examines public opposition to holding participants and organizers of the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack accountable, focusing on the role of racial attitudes through the theory of "racial spillover." It argues that former president Donald Trump's frequent use of racialized rhetoric linked negative racial attitudes to support for him, which in turn influenced opposition to prosecuting those involved in the attack and charging Trump himself. Using data from four nationally representative surveys conducted between 2021 and 2023, the study finds that individuals with more negative racial attitudes are significantly more likely to oppose accountability efforts, even among Democrats. The research also identifies support for Trump, Republican partisanship, and conservative ideology as additional factors associated with resistance to prosecution, highlighting how racial and partisan dynamics intersect to erode commitment to democratic norms and the rule of law.