A complete ruse....

I think "scapegoats" is slightly off the mark. That is a term I'd reserve for a bunch that are selected for punishment as a sort of fake atonement -- "We can't punish everyone, so we'll do these guys."
Instead, what I think is being done here is more along the lines of : "We know that no one on our side did anything wrong (e.g., that dude that murdered AshlieB) but to sound 'balanced' there has to be the semblance of punishment. So, we'll fake charges for these few guys and nothing, absolutely nothing, will come of it. The MSM will eat it up and point at it as a 'fair&balanced" final judgement."
This is more of a whitewash to make the entire issue go away for the left.

Just a quibble.

scapegoats