The second image isn't showing modern day protestors, its referencing the article's point on how the counterculture movement begat today's right. Not sure if I agree with his conclusions, but he doesn't seem to be criticizing today's left.
He's definitely criticizing today's left, but he's not saying they are comparable to the right. At the bare minimum, he notes,
they are the ones in power and thus in the position to put their harmful beliefs into practice in a way no current leftist crazies can, with the possible exception of the fallout from the anti-vaxxer stuff. But really the underlying symptoms he sees as bipartisan, mutating and informing alternating sides.
I think the point about how conspiracy theories are a self-fulfilling prophecy with regards to governance is also spot on. It enabled a loss of trust in government beyond the actual scandals, which in turn allowed some of those conspiracies to come true.