The most terrifying aspect of the current reality of the United States is not the assassination of the 31-year-old Trump activist, but how people have responded, writes Stephen Marche, author of ‘The Next Civil War’. As the sense of collective mourning no longer applies, this is a turning point for what comes next

The young conservative activist made his name by putting himself at the heart of debate on college campuses. It left him tragically exposed

Initial expressions of grief and shock were overtaken by open calls for reckoning and vengeance, as some proclaimed the country was on the brink of civil war.