There are a few things that seem to be a bit odd from the link:
"Authorities later found the weapons inside the apartments of Foster and Limon"
"The two appeared in court to face federal charges of possession of a stolen firearm and possession of an unregistered firearm after authorities said they had stolen at least 65 firearms, including machine guns and rifles, from four companies — Remington Arms, LKCI, Blaser USA and Legacy Sports International — Jan. 20-29."
"apparently had plans to sell the weapons. The prosecutor said Foster had a criminal history dating to 2010.
However........
"Both men were released on their own recognizance, though U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Koppe restricted them from possessing weapons while out of custody"
So steal a whole bunch of machine guns and NFA items & Federal court just says.... mmm.... please come back when we ask alright? Call it good?
Then the reason for them being treated with kid gloves comes out.....
"He added that the two men — who were part of Teamsters Local 631"