As you pointed out, this is partly a matter of interpretation. So opinions could reasonably vary, and I respect that.

I believe it’s clear enough that in this case, saying that the situation is just a riot, is a way of taking focus away from the other things that were happening. Perhaps it wasn’t a riot and then turned into one, and maybe we should be focusing on what happened first. Or perhaps there was a riot happening along with something else, and that second thing is worth mentioning.