President Joe Biden has also promised renewed efforts to tackle crime in the US, as a series of major cities experience spikes in violent offences. American politics is hyperpolarized, and the criminal justice arena is no exception. The public is consistently presented with a false choice between absolutes: it’s all about tough policing and prosecution, or it’s the police and prosecutors who are the problem. As support for political violence appears to be on the rise in the US, experts warn that such threats endanger the health of America’s democracy. But they say the country still has time to tamp down violent rhetoric if political leaders, particularly those in the Democratic party, stand up and condemn this alarming behavior.