They wouldn't have to defend themselves if they'd stop looting and setting shit on fire.
You're the same kind of troglodyte that thinks this will accomplish something.
Multiple rioters have broken into police armouries and have taken firearms. I saw a vid last night on twitter where one was carrying around a belt-fed LMG, if twitter wasn't fucked right now I'd link it.
They are vermin. They aren't protesting anything anymore, they're just lighting things on fire.
Oh hey here it is: https://twitter.com/abroadfren/status/1675380197124866050, you can see another one brandish a pistol.
They already do though, kind of. Their "Community Points" are an opt-in crypto shitcoin that the mods get a chunk of every month, and they're free to sell them to anyone willing to buy.
And there's always someone willing to buy, for some reason.
Just look at /r/cryptocurrency and their MOON token. Mods get something like $2000+ USD worth per month. I'm always surprised that 99% of reddit has never heard of them.
They can do what communities like /r/cryptocurrency and /r/fortniteBR do and opt-in to Community Points. Mods of the former make a decent killing with their MOON token.
Granted it's done by milking their users for dollars... but if it's good enough for reddit the company!