Our local municipality has (in the distant past) made all of the business park on-street parking into "no parking" zones. They also heavily enforce parking regulations in the area during actions...
Wanting to discourage motorists being around where a massive group of people are expected to gather is reasonable. It's why streets will close for parades and parties. You're turning something designed to protect protestors into a conspiracy to scuttle a protest
I've walked from the San Jose railway station to "The" Cupertino Hotel. 8.6 miles. I don't recommend it, the sidewalks were not consistently on the same side of the road, the heat was oppressive even in January, and even just the final crossing before the hotel itself was terrifying despite the presence of pedestrian lights. My experiences elsewhere in the US are similarly pedestrian-hostile over what I consider to be short distances.
How will "passengers" being different people to "drivers" help, when most people have their phones on them at all times and can be traced, and it's the vehicle rather than any person in it which may (or may not) have an engine kill-switch?
You drive and when within 3 miles your car dies.
You can start it again and drive away, turning around and leaving, but if you go further towards the capitol it dies again.
The next day the press reports that the planned protest was very sparsely attended.