Peaceful, in a sense, but extremely disruptive to business as usual and so the government reacted with violence.

The so-called “no kings” protests were organized specifically to not disrupt business as usual. They weren’t just peaceful, they were passive. Friendly. Neutered. They were not intended to provoke a violent response (because people weren’t ready for violence yet) and that’s why they failed to accomplish anything. My observation of history is: if your protest doesn’t provoke a response it’s essentially worthless.