I don’t know if I can make that jump, but...it IS an identifiable and increasing trend. No doubt about it.
If you look at the type of people in this administration, people who chum around with people like Bill Ayers and his wife, people who admire Mao and Che, then...what you suggest doesn’t seem so far fetched.
I agree it’s a leap, but I look at not only how it’s happening across the U.S. simultaneously, but how there seems to be organization to it beyond the social networking thing.
Dressing up to camouflage yourself in a nice area to rob a store? That takes forethought and organization. Not actions of a feral mob. Traveling large distances on public transportation to loot a store? Hoodlums are generally lazy and commit crimes of opportunity. Showing up and public events like fireworks and state fairs to beat the hell out of people? Damn risky, especially if you don’t know the security arrangements - unless you cased them out ahead of time. Again, not the usual m.o. of a random mob that hasn’t been incited by some event.
Sorry, I grew up in a dirty sh**hole factory river town. I know thug behavior. It tends to be random and not well thought thru. It’s not easy to get a big group together for a common criminal purpose and pull it off without screwing it up. Some of this stuff is way too sophisticated than just teens looking for a thrill.