I guess that makes sense. If launching a hardfork is essentially just getting everyone congregated onto the next iteration of the chain -- the I suppose you could rewrite the rules however you'd like.

If that's the case -- then wouldn't it also be possible to roll-back the chain to before the funds were powered down, and then go after the funds?

You'd think that the best way to secure the funds would be to leverage the influence that comes with the stake and ensure that responsible witness are in (or remain in) top slots -- rather than scattering these funds all over the place...