I think they’re scared of what the protest represents. A protest is “peaceful” as long as it wants to be; the Black Lives Matter protests showed this can change very quickly.

You meet people who are terrified by mice and spiders. Doesn't mean that they are threatened by them. I've yet to see a protest that was the decisive part of a political movement; they don't do anything. It is easier to get a message out there with a stopthewar.tld website than a protest. Websites are articulate, protests are just a mess.