“would it not have been suicidal to attempt to protect oneself from such illegal actions?”
The account lists 5 hostiles attacking. Not good odds, but not suicide either.
Okay, let's assume you engage all five hostiles and wound, kill or drive them all off.
Is that the end of the story?
Hardly. They will call in SWAT. Especially if you managed to kill one or more of the "hostiles," your chance of committing suicide in the long run (as in a couple of hours) is excellent.
You are NOT going to "win" a firefight with the cops. Not if they know who and where you are.
I'm perfectly willing to admit there are circumstances in which it's appropriate to die on a particular hill. But before deciding to engage in a firefight with LEO you should at least be aware that is what you are doing.
They would all have been wearing body armor. Just have to make sure you aim where G. Gordon Liddy said.