My grandmother pulled some weird stunts when she was a protestor. She chained herself to railings, tried to burn down railway lines and blow up the lines so the prime minister couldn't get to his country retreat. It worked. Women and working men got the vote.
I joined in some weird stunts in my younger days. I put photographs on a wire fence of my nephew and neice, wove flowers into the wire and stood holding hands with thousands of other women right around the base. It worked. Greenham Common closed.
I can't condemn those who painted the steps to the capitol building. At least it was a peaceful protest, not a violent one. At least it made us stop and think.