@Motorod pretty sure the original author of this post was confused between a protest and a riot.

For one thing, gearing up for violence at a protest (even defensively) can be seen as intent to engage in violence, which could be bad for you if you end up arrested. On the other hand, that defensive gear could save your life, which is more important than getting in trouble with the law.

The scanner thing is fake af and could get you in some real hot water as @ZenHeathen pointed out