U.S. Tries to Build Case for Conspiracy by WikiLeaks (nytimes.com)

"But in interviews, people familiar with the case said the department appeared to be attracted to the possibility of prosecuting Mr. Assange as a co-conspirator to the leaking because it is under intense pressure to make an example of him as a deterrent to further mass leaking of electronic documents over the Internet." - Emphasis mine

I thought laws were supposed to be enforced for justice, not to intimidate the people.