This. The press release simply stated the maximum penalty for the charges. A "threat" would have been a statement by the prosecutor saying what they intended to press for. Example - if someone were to state "I have a gun that could shoot you, leading to injury or death" that is a statement of fact, whereas if they said "I have a gun and I intend/will shoot you, leading to your injury or death" then they are making a threat. In this case the statement of fact was "If convicted on these charges, SWARTZ faces up to 35 years in prison..." the use of "IF" is very important.
Legal jargon is very specific and it may seem overly analytic to draw such a fine line, but that is exactly how law works and such specific distinctions must be drawn in order to understand exactly what is being said.
http://www.justice.gov/usao/ma/news/2011/July/SwartzAaronPR....
Legal jargon is very specific and it may seem overly analytic to draw such a fine line, but that is exactly how law works and such specific distinctions must be drawn in order to understand exactly what is being said.