I’m not going to comment on the “should they have” question, but I think this is effective as yet another piece of evidence that the Democrats are not just “persecuting” the opposition party. If sham trials are acceptable and possible, why not use them as much as possible?
Never heard anything bad about Pine. Are you thinking about Chris Pratt, perhaps? Because he has certainly gotten some heat for his alleged affiliations with far-right religious/political groups (because those are the same things now, apparently).