You are, however, free to believe that I was trolling. I can't stop you.
I invite the moderators to delete my account, if they believe that I am a troll. As things are, I merely refuse to go along with the herd-think on this site.
You seem to have a lot of comments for someone who doesn't even have a TV Drama-level understanding of the criminal justice system. You know that even people accused of murder are often free during their trials, right?
For some of us, memory of how Mitnick was treated (or for a more modern example, Manning), still taints how we expect accused "hackers" to be treated by the criminal justice system.
Physical detainment of someone accused of such crimes is hardly unheard of.
Mitnick's story is absolutely nothing like Aaron's. Mitnick was a fugitive after already having done prison time and had to be tracked down via cell phone triangulation.
A political prisoner is not usually granted bail. It isn't hard to see why.
Murder is a genuine crime recognized by all nations. One accused of murder will find few people who are automatically sympathetic.
On the other hand, the "crime" Mr. Swartz is accused of would be seen as an entirely moral act by a great many people around the world, myself included. It is quite possible that if he were to board a plane, he could find a place where he would not only be able to continue in his line of work, but would be respected as a hero who flipped the finger at the Evil Empire and its fat rent-seeking parasites.
The prosecutor would be quite foolish to grant bail.
Heading off a message board nerd response: the prosecutor does make influential bail recommendations. But don't you get the impression that this particular commenter would be disappointed if Swartz wasn't imprisoned immediately? That sure would cut down the drama and cost the commenter some opportunities to howl at the moon about political prisoners.
I will be surprised if he is allowed into an airport.