The violent attack on Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s husband comes with just over a week to go before the US midterm elections – a moment when political tensions are coming to the boil.
As if to emphasise this point, just a few hours after news of the assault on Paul Pelosi on Friday, the US government distributed a bulletin to law enforcement across the nation. It warned of a “heightened threat” of domestic violent extremism against candidates and election workers driven by individuals with “ideological grievances”.
Also on Friday, the US Department of Justice announced that a man from Pennsylvania had pleaded guilty to making multiple phoned death threats against an unnamed congressman – reported to be Democrat Eric Swalwell of California. The threats included telling a staff member in the congressman’s Washington office that he was going to come to the US Capitol with a firearm.
These wailing klaxons of a political system in peril come as Republicans and Democrats frame the upcoming midterm voting, which will determine which party controls Congress next year, as a pivotal moment in American history.
Republicans warn this is the last chance to put a check on Democrat Joe Biden’s presidency. Democrats say American democracy itself is at stake because of the numerous Republican candidates who have refused to accept the results of the 2020 presidential election.