{"id":219446,"date":"2026-01-05T17:50:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T22:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/?post_type=press_release&p=219446"},"modified":"2026-01-06T08:54:04","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T13:54:04","slug":"new-poll-shows-voters-overwhelmingly-support-public-accountability-for-u-s-boat-strikes","status":"publish","type":"press_release","link":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/new-poll-shows-voters-overwhelmingly-support-public-accountability-for-u-s-boat-strikes","title":{"rendered":"New Poll Shows Voters Overwhelmingly Support Public Accountability for U.S. Boat Strikes"},"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-219446","press_release","type-press_release","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"subheading":"According to an ACLU\/YouGov poll fielded in mid-December, 83% agree that the Trump administration should publicly release its legal justification for their lethal strikes on civilian boats at sea","date_and_time":"2026-01-05 18:00:00","featured_image":"","show_on_press_releases_landing_page":true,"components":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"NEW YORK \u2014 The American Civil Liberties Union released new polling<\/a> today on U.S. voters\u2019 views on the U.S. government\u2019s lethal strikes on civilian boats accused of carrying drugs. As of Jan. 2, 2026, the Trump administration and U.S. military have disclosed<\/a> 35 strikes, killing at least 114 people.\r\n\r\nThe polling, fielded by YouGov between Dec. 17-19, 2025, shows that an overwhelming majority of U.S. voters, including 97 percent of Democrats, 82 percent of independents, and 70 percent of Republicans, agree that Americans have a right to know more about their government and that the government should release the full unedited videos of the strikes. Moreover, a majority of voters, including 87 percent of Democrats, 53 percent of independents, and 15 percent of Republicans disapprove of the strikes, and 7 in 10 respondents believe that the administration has not yet clearly shown evidence that justify the actions.\r\n\r\nThe survey also dug into U.S. voters\u2019 opinion on what Congress should do about these strikes and found bipartisan support for more transparency and accountability. In particular:\r\n\r\n \t- 58 percent of voters say that the Trump administration should \u201cdefinitely\u201d release its legal justification for the strikes on civilian boats to the public, along with an additional 25 percent saying that it should \u201cprobably\u201d do so. Overall, 95 percent of Democrats, 78 percent of independents, and 73 percent of Republicans believe the administration should either \u201cdefinitely\u201d or \u201cprobably\u201d release the justification.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n
\r\n \t- 63 percent of respondents support the U.S. government releasing the unedited videos of the boat strikes, including the video of the Sept. 2, 2025, strike that allegedly killed shipwrecked survivors. Overall, 82 percent of Democrats, 51 percent of independents, and 44 percent of Republicans hold this view.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n
\r\n \t- 58 percent of voters support Congress holding a public hearing with government o\ufb03cials responsible for the boat strikes, including 83 percent of Democrats, 56 percent of independents, and 31 percent of Republicans.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\u201cOur polling makes clear that an overwhelming number of Americans on both sides of the aisle want Congress to step up and hold the Trump administration publicly accountable for its illegal strikes on civilian boats in the Caribbean,\u201d said Christopher Anders, director of ACLU\u2019s Democracy and Technology Division<\/b>. \u201cThis means open hearings with the officials responsible for these murders, as well as releasing both the legal justification and unedited videos of the strikes. Given the life-or-death stakes of the president\u2019s use of force, it\u2019s imperative that this transparency and accountability comes immediately.\u201d\r\n\r\nAccording to the poll, about half of respondents \u2013 51 percent \u2013 either strongly or somewhat agree that using missile strikes to fire upon boats o\ufb00 the coast of Venezuela that might be carrying drugs constitutes murder. This includes 79 percent of Democrats, 50 percent of independents, and 20 percent of Republicans. The number is even higher when voters are asked about the September double-tap boat strike that fired upon defenseless survivors.\r\n\r\nThese results come amidst an ACLU, Center for Constitutional Rights, and New York Civil Liberties Union lawsuit<\/a> seeking the public release of the Trump administration\u2019s legal justification for the strikes.\r\n\r\nThe poll is based on 1,016 interviews conducted by YouGov on the internet of registered voters nationwide between Dec. 17 and 19, 2025. Respondents were selected from YouGov to be representative of registered voters. The margin of error is approximately 3.7 percent."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"content_link","content_link":{"":null,"content_link_field_group":{"url":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/news\/national-security\/trumps-boat-strikes-are-illegal-the-public-needs-answers","":null,"title_override":"","image_override":"","hide_description":false,"description":"The Trump administration must release its legal justification and all other materials related to its illegal lethal strikes on civilian boats at sea.","title":"Trump's Boat Strikes Are Illegal. The Public Needs Answers. | American Civil Liberties Union","og-title":"Trump's Boat Strikes Are Illegal. The Public Needs Answers. | ACLU","og-image":219447,"og-site-name":"American Civil Liberties Union"},"card_variant":"vertical","hide_image":false,"width":"standard","alignment":"left"}}],"drupal_node_id":"","email":"media@aclu.org","phone":"(212) 549-2666","address":{"address_1":"125 Broad Street","address_2":"18th Floor","city":"New York","state":"NY","zip_code":10004,"country":"United States"},"pgp_public_key":"","issues":[46591,46761,46507,46515],"press_releases_related_to_cases":[218654],"spokesperson":"","related_affiliates":"","related_content_documents":[219423],"related_content_publications":""},"yoast_head":"\nAmerican Civil Liberties Union<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Poll Shows Voters Overwhelmingly Support Public Accountability for U.S. Boat Strikes | American Civil Liberties Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/new-poll-shows-voters-overwhelmingly-support-public-accountability-for-u-s-boat-strikes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Civil Liberties Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-06T13:54:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@aclu\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/new-poll-shows-voters-overwhelmingly-support-public-accountability-for-u-s-boat-strikes\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/new-poll-shows-voters-overwhelmingly-support-public-accountability-for-u-s-boat-strikes\",\"name\":\"New Poll Shows Voters Overwhelmingly Support Public Accountability for U.S. Boat Strikes | American Civil Liberties Union\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-05T22:50:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-06T13:54:04+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/new-poll-shows-voters-overwhelmingly-support-public-accountability-for-u-s-boat-strikes\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/\",\"name\":\"American Civil Liberties Union\",\"description\":\"The ACLU dares to create a more perfect union \u2014 beyond one person, party, or side. 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