The federal government is irrelevant to the matter, Trump's protestations to the contrary notwithstanding.

The taxing officials realize that there is no one around to protest these sorts of increases, so it is always attractive fruit to pick. 

Will their day to day be upended by protests when there is an officer related shooting in some other state?

Protests at, I think, Hershey bottled water plant already occurred. 

You need to have it in your name and should do it at least a few days early so you can protest all the outlets and electrical items before the inspection.  

Now, the property owners who already own in the areas where it's still allowed are rubbing their hands with glee, and heck, I wouldn't be surprised if they were behind some of the protests regarding student housing in certain areas, because that keeps their property in demand.But, I saw quite a few empty large houses for sale in neighborhoods where you're not allowed to have student rentals. 

Could her payments under protest hold up if we go to court?

Second, if they ARE assessed well above fair market, go through the protest processes and bring your comps with you to prove the assessment is too high. 

.- showing up to an appointment smelling of tobacco or pot smoke (I didn't allow any smoke in my building, so if they smelled of it, I didn't believe any protestations regarding them not smoking)- not giving me requested documents when they said they would, regardless of whether or not that was one hour late or two days late.- not filling out an application completely. 

This is terrible timing.In reality, I probably couldn't (or wouldn't want to) proceed with eviction if she protested.