See, that's a big part of the pardoning of the Insurrectionists.
Rachel was actually talking about this. It shows that Scrotus wants us to believe that these 'militias' who follow him are 'above the law' just as Hitler's Brownshirts were. It's to instill a fear in morally 'right-thinking' people that if they stand up against fascism, they will be subject to violent attacks, either at protests or via attacks on their homes.
If your kid is in a 'primary target' city, I'd be willing to bet he's in a blue state. Not asking you where, just surmising based on what I've seen in the media about 'primary targets'. So the following are some 'points to ponder'. And again, this is just my own feelings.
At this point we don't know just how far Scrotus will go in encouraging and/or allowing his 'Trumpshirts' to go as far as physically attacking people who are simply exercising their Constitutional right to protest to stand up for their and others' rights. My feeling is that he'll follow his usual "Will someone not rid me of this annoying priest' line and do a big fat nothing. He won't 'order them out' but neither will he say "Stop!". Any 'encouragement' from him will have layers upon layers between him and any attackers.
Blue states will use local and state LEO to protect protesters and to enforce state laws, but no federal enforcement will be invoked. So unfortunately, red state protesters may well be on their own unless the local authorities intervene. God help anyone who lives in Texas or that ilk. But I do feel that if the Trumpshirts are going to start violence, it's not going to be right away. There is going to be a 'wait and see' period where they, too, test the waters just as rally organizers and participants will.
I'm in CA. I'd expect to see a large local LEO presence at any big city rallies as most large cities in CA lean left. However, I think of San Diego (city) or Orange County as 'up in the air' as those areas are in 'flux' and at present tend to the right. Smaller communities or a city located in a 'red' area/county, maybe not so much. So, I'd probably feel safer attending a rally in, say, LA metro, SF Bay Area or Sacramento metro than I would in Fresno, Anaheim, or Redding. Gavin has the ability to mobilize the CHP and Nat'l Guard should he choose to, but I think he'd use that sparingly unless absolutely necessary.
DH and I (as 'older people') are going to be cautious at first scoping out the surroundings and the attendees and we will leave at the first sign of trouble. In my younger days I probably would have had a 'stay and fight' mentality, but we're just too physically vulnerable now.