WASHINGTON (TNND) — The United States is once again being forced to confront its intensifying issue with political violence after the assassination of political activist Charlie Kirk as incidents targeting figures on the left and right pile up, building more evidence that it may be becoming a lasting piece of American politics.

Kirk’s assassination is just the latest incident in a growing string of political violence that has rocked the United States in recent years.

President Donald Trump was targeted in two assassination attempts last year; former Democratic Minnesota state House speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed in their home this summer — the same day Democratic State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were shot multiple times; Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home was set on fire while he and his family slept inside; Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was targeted in an assassination plot; and Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., was shot in 2017.

Threats are also increasing toward lawmakers, judges, prosecutors and their families. The U.S. Capitol Police reported threats and concerning statements against Congress, their families and staff totaled nearly 9,500 last year. The total was under 4,000 in 2017.

The continued rise of threats and acts of violence were not a surprise as warnings of fears of a political crisis bubbled to the surface. Partisanship has grown more intense; the temperature of political discourse is turned up and increasing levels of Americans see the opposite party as a threat to their way of life.

“We cannot keep going with this, it’s just too dangerous. It stunts free speech. It puts fear into the public at a time when fear is really counterproductive, and it is against everything the Founders intended in creating the country that we have and the political system that we have,” said Alison Dagnes, a political science professor at Shippensburg University and the author of “Super Mad at Everything All the Time.”

Polling has found increasing shares of Americans holding unfavorable views of the opposing party and more people seeing elections as deciding whether they will be able to continue their way of life.

The increased frequency of violence or threats of it has spurred some calls for toning down the rhetoric and condemning political violence but also finger-pointing from both sides of the aisle about who is to blame. Democrats have criticized Trump and his base for fanning the flames with aggressive rhetoric toward his rivals, while Republicans say Democrats have demonized people who disagree with them.

Scores of prominent leaders from both parties have condemned Kirk’s killing and called for an end to political violence but the divide and blame casting were still on full display.

“For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals,” Trump said. “This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., denounced the attack but also refuted that Democrats need to lower the temperature.

"Oh please. Why don't you start with the President of the United States, right? And every ugly news he has posted, and every ugly word,” Warren told reporters. “I just don’t want to hear this from the Republicans.”

Another troubling dynamic played out on social media highlighting the partisan divide over Kirk’s death with posts from left-wing accounts suggesting he deserved his fate and plenty of right-wing posters calling for a political reckoning. Gruesome videos from the crowd showing the moment Kirk was shot are also readily available on social media, helping fuel outrage and serving as a consistent reminder of a dangerous political environment.

Most of America’s high profile political figures ranging from people holding public office to online activists and influencers have spoken out against political violence in the wake of Kirk’s assassination. But how long the calls for peace and turning the political temperature down remains to be seen once the initial shock and outrage calm down and the cycle of politics ramps back up.

That dynamic has already been on display this year after the targeted shootings of the Minnesota state lawmakers. Calls for unity and cooler heads prevailing were set aside for partisan fights about who was to blame.

“The incentive is to be antagonistic. We need leaders who are going to try and unify us, and unfortunately, we don't have those leaders right now, and therefore there's no voice out there calling louder and above the others to try and deescalate,” Dagnes said. “When the only words they're getting are divisive and angry and when there's no ‘come together’ language, then the public will take to their corners and continue to lash out.”

“Political violence has become all too common in American society, and this is not who we are,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters at the Capitol. “We need every political figure, we need everyone who has a platform, to say this loudly and clearly.”