That's my point, Mellie: crowds with a purpose are scarier than people acting alone.
But crowds, in and of themselves, are not 'villians' and are notoriously hard to control, either by the leaders or by whatever 'authority' exists. There are major studies on crowds and mobs - which is why the police in the U.S. get out riot gear when faced with unruly crowds and, assuming there is forewarning, will take preemptive steps to keep crowds from turning into mobs.
I still get a kick out out Seattle's reaction to the race riots in LA many moons ago - the (then) black mayor and white police chief announced they would not tolerate 'hooliganism'. And they didn't.
