Abstract How does campaign-style law enforcement sustain authoritarian rule? Drawing on fieldwork data and published materials, this article enhances the understanding of law and politics in authoritarian regimes by investigating the role of the ‘sweep away black' campaign—designed to combat organized and gang crime—in strengthening China's authoritarian regime. It argues that the campaign helps the party-state enhance its authoritarian rule by resolving the legitimacy crisis caused by economic slowdown, gangs' infiltration in grassroots political structures and problems of police corruption and shirking. But the campaign distorts the criminal justice system by demanding that criminal justice organs deliver severe and swift justice. It also harms China's private sector because local governments may expand the targets of repression to include private enterprises.