Watching live streams from the protest informed me a lot about who these protesters are
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eZaOGehK6k . What surprised me is that they were mostly pretty young. They also looted a liquor store across from the police station and you can notice how everyone seemed to get drunker and drunker as the night went on. I think they are venting a lot of built-up frustration and honestly have a pretty good time doing it.