I'm not sure that's the reason - it may be the excuse. I rather think the recent funeral of the ex-IRA "intelligence officer" attended by leading Sinn Fein politicians has more to do with it. It wasn't just a funeral, more of a Republican demonstration which was guaranteed to aggravate the loyalist community (leaving aside the disregard for COVID restrictions). The fact that the PSNI were basically scared to interfere in case of stoking up more trouble says it all.