Live in a small college town. A decade or so ago, a baker's half dozen dressed in black reaper costumes, faces masked, to protest something. I unwittingly encountered them on the sidewalk. They kept stepping in front of me to stop me. I finally told them I was old and their dress/behavior had me in fear for my life and I would kill them in defense of my life. They let me pass. Maybe I got lucky in several ways, that time.....
So, if I was walking and became entangled in a bigger protest, or was in my car and became surrounded by protesters, what would my legally defensible actions be to e&e the encounter?