Health and Human Services commissioned a new study that links transgender ideology and left-wing violence, The New York Post reported.
The Trump administration funded researchers and independent collaborators to study a correlation between transgender beliefs and political violence. The new study, which was released on Wednesday, was put together by researchers at Rutgers University, the right-leaning Manhattan Institute, and the Network Contagion Research Institute, according to The New York Post.
Respondents in the study were asked about six potential targets of political violence, including Charlie Kirk, Donald Trump, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, wealthy people's property, and the police, The Post reported.
According to The Post, HHS-backed researchers queried more than 1,200 U.S. adults about the importance of affirming a person's gender identity. They also asked about the significance of threats to transgender individuals from various groups, including "white supremacists, men, the Supreme Court, etc."
The study determined, "Gender ideology may function as an ideological accelerant, telling left-wing authoritarian psychology who the enemy is, why the situation is urgent, and—in those already disposed toward force—that violence is legitimate.”
"These findings suggest that gender ideology is associated with [left-wing authoritarianism] and willingness to justify political violence," the study claimed. "Experimental research is needed to determine causality."
Colin Wright, one of the researchers involved in the study, told The Post that one of the "most interesting and perhaps shocking findings was that accepting gender ideology appeared to augment authoritarian attitudes on support for political violence."
Wright concluded, "This may result from gender ideology defining specific oppressed classes and their oppressors, and the promotion of extreme narratives of harm for those who refuse to affirm transgender identities both socially and medically."
However, he pointed out that the conclusion "is only speculative at this point, but we are addressing this directly in a follow-up report."
