It’s being done because otherwise there’s no way for the government to reimprison them, which makes them look weak on terrorism after the furore they’ve already created about PA. They’ve already spent two years in prison pretrial, which counts triple towards a future prison sentence if they’re found guilty. None of them can actually be put away for more than 6 years even if they’re found guilty, so unless the government finds a way to increase the sentencing every single activist will walk free from court regardless of the result.