I think there is definitely a place for this kind of non-violent 'resistance'. It's an easy way to move public sentiment and bully fascists in a way that can't really be reframed by the media and such. No one is going to think people in these costumes are doing violence because it's absurd. Onlookers will start to understand that the idea of riots, gangs, etc is simply a lie.
That said, non-violence is not a long-term solution to fascism (obvious to most of us I imagine). The US people just aren't in a position to do much else. Any real resistance would be crushed at the moment because the numbers are simply too small.
Edit: should also note these people are still doing something good by wasting ICE resources just by being there. They can't be ignored by ICE or other cops, so they can even serve as a distraction for other activities and any time a cop is dealing with these goofy antics is time they aren't doing something much worse.
). To ordinary people, black bloc looks scary. A bunch of people who are clearly ready to fight and light cop cars on fire--as cool and good as that is--feeds the narrative that this is a "war" against a dangerous, violent, scary group. It's a lot harder to sell that narrative when the same movement includes grandmas and people in silly dinosaur costumes. Footage of the cops brutalizing "antifa" members actively fighting back doesn't resonate with the public the same way footage of Cathy from your bookclub getting maced in the face for standing quietly does.
