A pepper ball would only piss her off. Trust me.
And she has participated in several exercises like this. And (1) you're damned right she wears her collar, because she is called to bear public witness, (2) they have extensive planning and training on how to deal with just this sort of thing. In fact, at some events, they wear color-coded armbands to indicate where they should be in position in the protest, and who is willing to be arrested if necessary.
Honestly, the book on non-violent resistance is one of the only hopes we have. Make MAGA shoot and beat members of the clergy, publicly. AND, have a plan to make those images go worldwide and be amplified instantly (this is where "the resistance" is failing).
And ultimately -- and this is important, and hard to stomach, but true -- it's going to take US troops, or paramilitary forces (and that's exactly what ICE is) opening fire en masse against members of the public. When there are images of a dozen dead Americans in the street, including a grandmother, a pastor, etc.....then you have a CHANCE to break through and break the nerve of the fascist-adjacent and apathetic people.
Of course, there's also a tipping point that we're going to face as well: when the US military is ordered to slaughter Americans in America....what do they do? I am not optimistic about that. I do not trust them to honor their oath, or I at least fear that those who would do so will have been removed from the equation, and craven bloodthirsty fascist-sympathizers will have taken their place.