This seems like one of the problems with using an opaque moderation style where posts might just vanish with no explanation or warning (even to the original poster). A mod might have enough information to feel justified about it, but that doesn’t mean someone isn’t going to get the wrong idea and end up with things escalating.
And, as others have said, the solidarity is more about the reaction to that escalation than what the original trigger was. This also isn’t the first time that disproportionate punishments have resulted for things that probably could have been defused by a lighter touch.
