The immediate effects of this pervasive violent intimidation are hard to measure. But it should be self-evident that this is deeply corrosive and dangerous. If people must expect that practicing democracy and the rule of law will put them in acute danger, democracy will perish.

This is one of the reasons why a second Trump presidency would be so much worse: Resistance to the regime – not just coming from the Left, but also fueled by whatever skepticism still remains among Republicans – would face an unprecedented level of violent threat.