<i>"... <b>directly</b> equally at the protesters and the guards ..."</i>

At first I read it as "directed", but that's not what it says. But I have a feeling that's what it should say.

And I'm still curious about what might happen if the protesters got a free harae every day. Akiko and Shiraishi could place the guards between them and the protesters, and if they could only maintain their focus during the loud protests, they ought to be able to finish the ritual. The protesters would probably feel a little better, and I wonder if that would make them feel better about the shrine, or about protesting?