I do not know the US law, that's a fact. Nor do I want to, after reading this story. A country that makes this kind of situation lawful, almost ordinary, has only my disgust. Back to the days of Stalin, is it? His actions too were always strictly lawful!
Why can't you simply say "This should not have happened, lessons should be learned to avoid it happening again. And these innocent people have a right to apologies, if not material compensation, for having been accused and held without serious grounds." ?
But perhaps we had better stick to aviation. With this proviso: I have dreamed of flying onto OSH for a long while - I'll stop dreaming now.