You've conflated property damage with violence against people. I don't believe the two should be legally or morally judged the same, even if we may agree that both are crimes.
Cars and windows are not people.
Our criminal justice system should, and usually does, distinguish between property crimes and crimes against people. I believe discussions about protest and violence and property damage should do the same, even if you believe both are criminal and should be punished.
Also, even when people are not in the cars, it is a "popular" hate crime to intimidate people by selectively destroying their property.
"We can do this to your car; we can do it to your home, too, even when you're inside" is the message.