U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake condemned what he sees as a dangerous, partisan spectacle surrounding the battle over Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, saying he had received a death threat over the matter.

"One man, somewhere in the country, called my office in Arizona and left a message saying that he was tired of me 'interrupting our president' — and that for the offense of allowing Dr. Ford to be heard," the Arizona Republican said from the well of the Senate. "For this offense, me and my family would be 'taken out.'

"I mention this with reluctance, but only to say that we have lit a match, my colleagues. The question is, do we appreciate how close the powderkeg is?"

Flake's speech, carried live on national television, lays bare the rising tension over the confirmation battle for Kavanaugh.

On Thursday, Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who has accused him of sexually assaulting him 32 years ago, are scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about her allegations.

Flake is a Judiciary Committee member.

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Flake pleads for civility

That hearing could determine whether Kavanaugh's nomination proceeds to the full Senate for a confirmation vote.

In his remarks, Flake didn't indicate how he would vote on Kavanaugh's nomination. Instead, he made clear he wants to hear from both Kavanaugh and Blasey Ford. He also indicated that he didn't hold against her that she only recently came forward with information about the allegation.

He offered a now-familiar plea for civility amid the rising partisan furor.

"And so these witnesses who will testify in a very important hearing tomorrow, these unwitting combatants in an undeclared war," he said. "These people are not props for us to make our political points, nor are they to be 'demolished like Anita Hill' as was said on conservative media the other night. Nor is one them a 'proven sex criminal' as has been circulating on the left side of the Internet.

"These are human beings, with families and children — people who love them and people whom they love and live for — and each is suffering through the very ugly process that we have created."

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