wsj being Murdoch owned is not a good reference to cite. As he and his organisations supported SOPA/PIPA, I'd view their opinion as jounalistically tainted.

There is a way to smack them other than criminal charges. Unless it was repealed during the post 9/11 orgy of civil rights abuses, Section 1984 of Chapter 15 of the US Code states that a government official is personally financially responsible for double damages if they violate the civil rights of a citizen. This probably came out of the 60s Civil Rights movement to prevent southern officals from keeping blacks out of the voting booths -- a necessary thing at the time. Now it can be used to protect people against abuses of the Patriot Act -- but only if they know they've been victimised.