>They /can/ shoot him though. All it takes is an angry war widow who feels their life is forfeit without their partner.
That is a terrible idea from the perspective of the US government.
"You'll find a live saint much easier to handle than a dead one." Assange is in himself not that powerful, he represents an idea, and his followers are scarier than 4Chan, because they're a superset of 4Chan, and they don't just do what they do "for the lulz." They do so because they believe in it. Killing Assange would mobilize them like nothing before. It doesn't matter who did it. Accusing him of rape sows discord among moderates. They want to kill the movement, not Assange.
That is a terrible idea from the perspective of the US government.
"You'll find a live saint much easier to handle than a dead one." Assange is in himself not that powerful, he represents an idea, and his followers are scarier than 4Chan, because they're a superset of 4Chan, and they don't just do what they do "for the lulz." They do so because they believe in it. Killing Assange would mobilize them like nothing before. It doesn't matter who did it. Accusing him of rape sows discord among moderates. They want to kill the movement, not Assange.