The year was 1764. There was a group of frontiersmen who called themselves "The Paxton Boys." They came from the remote Susquehanna River region of central Pennsylvania — probably not that different from today's uneducated, poorly informed, ultra-right miscreants in the heartland of the country.
The Paxton Boys had formed a vigilante group to retaliate against native Americans after the French and Indian War and Pontiac's Rebellion. The Paxtons, you may be interested to learn, had been responsible for the murders of 20 members of the Susquehannock Tribe in events collectively known as as the Conestoga Massacre. Then they decided to march on Philadelphia in January 1764!
They said they wanted to present their grievances to the Pennsylvania Legislature — but citizens were in a panic, because more violence seemed imminent from the unruly mob of 250 that the Paxtons had gathered.
Luckily, Governor Penn recruited yours truly and other leaders to head them off in Germantown (which I'm told is now a suburb of Philadelphia, but back then it was a far-away settlement on the outskirts of the town).
After the leaders and I agreed to present the men's pamphlet of complaints to the colonial legislature, the mob ultimately dispersed.
So you see, mobs and marches have been an unfortunate part of American history from our earliest times. I only hope that we can all learn from past events and accordingly try our mightiest to prevent future bloodshed, should it reach that point.
Your humble servant,
B. Franklin