The material Barrett Brown linked to was millions of lines long. Only a handful had credit card numbers.
Its not like he was out there trying to sell credit card numbers. He was trying do disseminate information for the public good and some illegal information was swept up. Prosecutoral discretion, indeed.
The guy was steamrolled. They found a scapegoat for a problem they were embarassed they couldn't do much about (Anonymous). Luckily he was engaged in questionable personal activities like drug use so they knew they had an easy road to discredit his work and drag him through the mud. Then they found a reason to provoke and prosecute and did it.
Its not like he was out there trying to sell credit card numbers. He was trying do disseminate information for the public good and some illegal information was swept up. Prosecutoral discretion, indeed.
The guy was steamrolled. They found a scapegoat for a problem they were embarassed they couldn't do much about (Anonymous). Luckily he was engaged in questionable personal activities like drug use so they knew they had an easy road to discredit his work and drag him through the mud. Then they found a reason to provoke and prosecute and did it.