> The fact that the default response to this is "omg" and "this guy deserves to be in prison"

Straw man fallacy. Literally nobody here has said he deserves to be in prison.

> This is a very hacker thing to do. Hackers have always been people out at the edge doing things that get them into trouble.

It saddens me that you don't recognize a difference between "thing that gets you in trouble" and "thing that harms others". Getting in trouble is not the problem here.