By Oeoi – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
Violence, then, is really only justified when there is no other recourse, when speech is shut down, when public opinion no longer matters, when elections are decided, as alluded to by Stalin, not by those who vote, but by those who count the votes. And when you cross that line, it’s not an issue of “protest and go home” but it’s war.
Don’t kid yourself that it’s anything else. The war might be justified, but it remains a war and you are an enemy combatant to the powers that be. They might just treat you as a criminal if they don’t want to acknowledge the war. Or they may go ahead and acknowledge the war and brand you a traitor. In either case, you are pledging “your life, your fortune, and your sacred honor” to that cause.
If you aren’t ready to do that, then keep your protest peaceful, and stay far away from those who do not.
— David Burkhead in Political Violence and the Second Amendment
Burkhead: Political Violence and the Second Amendment