in the colonial era, mobs regularly burned effigies of public figures and tarred and feathered people. in the civil war era, mobs tended to drag figures in the street (and real people occasionally).
current demonstrations tend to follow the civil rights era "model" of amassing a large force and "taking" a street. additionally, people often burn "American flags" nowadays. this is a startling visual that can rally people allready in the street, but may "turn off" observers in the "mainstream." it might be a better tactic to burn effigies (life-sized puppets) to get points across - it's as startling a visual, plus it directly attacks an individual (or a symbolic figure) instead of all of "America."
people can learn a great deal about direct action by looking at tactics that were used in previous eras.