I guess the more profound tragedy, as I feel it, is that I always believed Aaron would be one of the best people to lead the fight against these problems (or at least, what causes them), and that the JSTOR trial was just a new, if difficult front.
I think many people in power got scared by the power he wielded in the SOPA/PIPA debate, which put a lot of pressure on getting him out of the scene. The AG was all too happy to acquiesce.
