'Are you threatening me?'
Thats a strange concept, I can't undestand it.
If the situation is intense and you ask a person if he is threatening you... so whats next?
If he answers "yes I'm threatening you", so what I can answer now? I can't call a police or sue him because of some abstract phrase... I can't think of anything logical..
In my opinion, thats just an irational question, which is used to strengthen the intensity.
Ok, there is one logical explanation. If the person is threatening you and you have a dictaphone, you can record the threat and then use it in the court as evidence.