Sounds like possibly a deliberate act of defiance
That is certainly possible. But you can't say for sure, based on the information we have at hand.
One reason why this information might not be available, of course, is because the media is too busy cheerleading, instead of reporting the news. They love a canned story, where there is a deliberate provocation, and they get to report on the government reaction, without every analysing why the government found it necessary to act in the first place.
A story like that can be written comfortably from the hotel bar, half in the bag, with no serious thought required.
I have no patience with this "put up job" type of protest. Back in the day, people courted arrest by the police, and owned up to their actions. To whine that they were innocent victims would have completely undermined the point of the protest. They were willing to bear the consequences in order to protest an unjust policy.
But this whining about how folks are just minding their own business and are being singled out for special punishment is just obnoxious. Especially when getting busted is what they wanted to happen from the git-go.