The distinction between felony and misdemeanor is key, and therein rests Lessig's argument about proportionality. I don't doubt that Aaron would have been willi

The distinction between felony and misdemeanor is key, and therein rests Lessig's argument about proportionality. I don't doubt that Aaron would have been willing to do time if it meant making a point. But he didn't want to set a precedent in this circuit court that this kind of activity was a felony violation of the CFAA--it would have made it harder, not easier, for those who came after him. Also, while I agree with you that civil disobedience means going to jail, most moral crusaders whom society has fit to punish that way have not been charged with felonies (Martin Luther King Jr was never charged as a felon), and past innovators with similarly murky histories (Steve Jobs and blue boxes, for example) suffered no punishment. Aaron's political actions made him a target for the worst the government could do.