"I'm not sure if it is SOP, or the Secret Service thought they were dealing with violent criminals"
seems possible the bulk of them had first learned about hackers at the same time they learned about the raid -- perhaps from someone who exaggerated the average size of a hacker's fangs. in any event it doesn't seem likely that in preparation for sundevil they'd have consulted with anyone that would have urged a relaxed and moderated view of what was at that time an unexplored frontier of law enforcement.
Right, from the sheer scope of the raids I'm sure they thought they were dealing with some sort of syndicate, probably professional criminals branching out. They were absolutely dumbfounded, they didn't know whether to slap the cuffs on me or give me milk and cookies.
seems possible the bulk of them had first learned about hackers at the same time they learned about the raid -- perhaps from someone who exaggerated the average size of a hacker's fangs. in any event it doesn't seem likely that in preparation for sundevil they'd have consulted with anyone that would have urged a relaxed and moderated view of what was at that time an unexplored frontier of law enforcement.