If you've stood in a river in North Dakota and taken a face full of teargas without violence you can call yourself a protester.
If you've left the free speech "zone" and been arrested or kicked around to bring public attention to your cause, you can call yourself a protester.
If you sacrifice your own comfort, freedom, money, time, and safety to stand up for yourself, your children, your environment, your livelihood, and the rights of others who cannot (or are terrified to) defend themselves, you can call yourself a protester.
If you join a mob and attack innocent people who have no accountability for your situation you should call yourself a rioter.
If you riot because you didn't get your way, steal the rights and property of others, in order to steal public attention from legitimate issues, you should call yourself a media whore.
If you are paid, brought in by bus, and given riot supplies, if you sell yourself as a pawn and a soldier in a war against your own democracy, you can call yourself a traitor to your country.
If you believe that an attack is the same thing as a protest, you should call yourself a terrorist.
Words matter.