They're kidding. Right?
No, they are not kidding. I've seen similar things often enough at anti'"anti-war" demos to be convinced that these groups get training in intimidating, yelling at, and staying (at least visibly) just inside the law, while trying to provoke a defensive reaction from the good guys.
Heck, Don Adams found out about this four years ago -- nothing new, or surprising about it.
I've got a police training manual on how to use the baton (night-stick). Demonstrators would generally like pics of cops swinging their batons at "helpless, peaceful demonstrators" (the pic would be take just AFTER the demonstrator had punched the cop), so training was adapted to deny photo opportunities.
Modern police baton techniques discourage overhand swings in favor of straight-line jabs. One nice technique to use against a charging assailant involves shifting your head and upper body away from the assailant, while simultainiously swinging a disabling strike at his knee. Any photo taken at the moment of the swing will show the cop shifting away in a retreating manner, with the assailant looming over him