One Year Later, Americans Describe the Capitol Insurrectionists as “Stupid,” “Idiots,” “Terrorists”

By Mia Costa, Assistant Professor, Dartmouth College, and Brian Schaffner, Newhouse Professor of Civic Studies, Tufts University

In the immediate wake of the January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection, we asked Americans how they would describe those people who stormed the Capitol. At the time, the most common word Americans used to describe people involved in the storming was, by far, “terrorists.” People also frequently used words like “stupid,” “criminals,” “crazy,” “disgusting,” “idiots,” “traitors,” and “horrible.” Since then, however, there have been attempts by some conservatives to paint the insurrectionists in a more positive light. At the same time, investigations into the event are ongoing. How are Americans thinking about the insurrectionists one year later?

On January 4 and 5 of this year, Data for Progress sponsored a survey that asked 3,453 respondents the same question we asked one year ago: What word or words would they use to describe those who stormed the Capitol?

The word cloud shows the 100 most commonly used words sized relative to how frequently those words were used. While many Americans continue to use the word “terrorists” to describe the insurrectionists, many also use more colloquial terms like “stupid,” “idiots,” and “crazy.” Words like “criminals” and “traitors” are also commonly invoked in responses, as is Donald Trump’s name. When we applied a sentiment coding of terms to the responses, we found that Americans were about eight times more likely to use negative words to describe the insurrectionists than they were to use positive ones.

To get a better sense of how descriptions have changed over the past year, the next graph shows how frequently the most commonly used words were written this year compared to last year. Americans are much less likely to volunteer the label of “terrorists” now than they were in 2021. This may be due to the fact that during early coverage of the insurrection, the word “terrorists” was frequently used by news organizations and politicians. Since then, news coverage and rhetoric may have diversified. Notably, Trump’s name is also being used less frequently now than it was last year, perhaps indicating that the insurrection has become somewhat less connected to Trump in people’s minds.

The graph also reflects the modest increase in usage of terms like “stupid,” “idiots,” “crazy,” and “traitors.” In 2022, only a few respondents continue to use the term “protesters” to describe those who stormed the Capitol.  

The following graph illustrates differences in the language used by Trump voters compared to Biden voters. Even while Biden voters used the term “terrorists” less frequently than they did a year ago, it is still the most common word they use to describe the insurrectionists (just as it was in 2021). The terms “traitors” and “criminals” are also frequently used by Biden voters. Overall, Biden voters were over 11 times more likely to use negative words to describe the insurrectionists than they were to offer a positive word. 

We saw more notable shifts among Trump voters. Last year, their most commonly used word to describe the insurrectionists was “antifa.” But one year later, Trump voters have largely abandoned their attempts to place the blame on “antifa,” as almost nobody used the term in 2022. It appears that many Trump voters are less likely to shift the blame to the left, instead describing those who stormed the Capitol in a positive light (as “patriots” or “protesters”).

That said, Trump voters are actually less likely to describe the insurrectionists as “protesters” now than they were last year. These patterns perhaps reflect the fact that a year’s worth of reporting and investigations into the insurrection have successfully dispelled some of the preliminary framing of the Capitol insurrection that came from right-wing news outlets. It is also worth noting that Trump voters are significantly less likely to describe the insurrectionists as “Trump supporters” now than they were last year. This suggests they are less willing to affiliate with the Capitol storming, or draw a clear connection between it and themselves.

Indeed, many Trump supporters see the insurrectionists in a negative light. “Stupid,” “idiots,”  “rioters,” and “crazy” are among the six most frequently employed terms that these voters used. According to our sentiment analysis, Trump voters used negative words six times more frequently than positive ones to describe the insurrectionists. It is clear that even one year later, the majority of Trump voters have a negative view of this event.

Overall, Americans continue to have strongly negative reactions toward those who stormed the Capitol last January. While the term “terrorists” is less uniformly used, a wider diversity of colloquial terms like “crazy,” “stupid,” and “idiots” are employed more frequently. Even Trump voters have largely abandoned the attempt to pin the insurrection on antifa, though many instead choose to label the insurrectionists as “patriots.” But even among those who voted for Trump, the sentiment is largely negative. What our data makes clear is that the vast majority of Americans continue to be disgusted by those who stormed the Capitol one year ago.