This is the kind of thing we'd hear from the Hong Kong police after every protest. My own experience with anarchists is that they couldn't organize a pizza order without splintering into 12 irreconcilable factions (death to anchovies!), but sure, maybe they're masterminds now
Anarchists are also some of the most bureaucratic, rules and process-obsessed people I've ever met. I always enjoyed this, just like I get a kick out of the fact that the xenophobic far right works effortlessly and harmoniously across national boundaries.
If you declare that a secret cabal of ninjas threatens to overthrow society, then yeah, the weird loner kid who brings his katana to study hall is going to feel pretty empowered. This doesn't make ninjas any more real, though it will certainly boost sales of throwing stars.
A super good book on an earlier anarchist scare is The Proud Tower by Barbara Tuchman. Everything by her is worth reading, but that's particularly topical now. amazon.com/dp/B00IB43Q62/…
