What's the alternative? Escalate and inflame emotions even more?

What good would come of that?

The right thing to do here is to break the feedback loop and take some energy out of the system.

One consideration here is that lack of consequences enables escalation - if it turns out that this disruption is not prosecuted and punished, then (as their core reasons for doing so have not changed) they are going to be emboldened and repeat similar acts with more force.

Breaking the loop requires a deterrent, not only verbal "we will not stand for this".