Assuming that what is charged here is true - namely, that the prosecutors brought the case against Swartz because of his philosophical writings on open data - any minutiae of the case is irrelevant. Thank you for your explanation of the importance of establishing intent in the context crminal law, but couched in the bed of prosecutorial misconduct that it apparently is, it just isn't relevant here and even bringing it up is compositional sophistry.
If I, as a prosecutor, decide to charge you with felony assualt because I don't like the color of your shirt, it simply does not matter that you either A) Slapped someone in the face last year or B) Wrote on your blog that you intended to do it. My case is prima facie invalid - I am not allowed to charge you with felonies because I don't like the color of your shirt or because I don't like your philosopy on government transparency.
Assuming that what is charged here is true - namely, that the prosecutors brought the case against Swartz because of his philosophical writings on open data
The whole point is that it's not true! It's just something HuffPo, et al. are spinning out of a much less controversial statement about what evidence they considered to establish intent. The strongly-conclusive headlines do not match the actual story here. Defending the bullshit headlines doesn't make them true--that's not how truth works.
If I, as a prosecutor, decide to charge you with felony assualt because I don't like the color of your shirt, it simply does not matter that you either A) Slapped someone in the face last year or B) Wrote on your blog that you intended to do it. My case is prima facie invalid - I am not allowed to charge you with felonies because I don't like the color of your shirt or because I don't like your philosopy on government transparency.