That observation was directed at mainstream phones - where there is “on”, “off” and “maybe off” i.e. you can never be sure whether anything is really off unless the battery is stone cold dead. So security and privacy can only be guaranteed by leaving the tracking device at home. I assume that most if not all of the “DC Rioters” have mainstream phones. (Leaves me wondering whether there are any “AC Rioters”.)
The Librem 5 allows me to turn WiFi off and be 100% confident that it is really off. I always turn the L5 WiFi off when I leave the house, which really isn’t a hassle. That isn’t because I am intending to break the law. 
I bought the L5 to use it … and I bought the L5 with HKSs to use them.
Australia copies most of the bad ideas from the UK, so I expect our train transport network will soon be riddled with WiFi surveillance, if it isn’t already.