And ultimately, what I'm worried about is the backlash IF CBS does pull the plug on Axanar. These people are in so deep, they may do something stupid. Maybe I'm being dramatic, but that's the mindset I see from these people.
An interesting hypothetical question would be 'IF' CBS pulled the plug, would Alec have to give the money back to the donors? Only for Axanar not for Prelude since that's a finished product. My guess would be that if CBS tells them they can't do the film. Alec would try to turn Axanar into a non-Star Trek project and try to convince the donors to let him keep the money for that. Either way, it would be a shit storm.
That is a very interesting question. Also, one thing I've noted about the production is: if fans aren't happy, the crew says they will give the money back. But, that's their mindset now. They're probably not set on a couple hundred thousand upset Trek fans. IF that did happen, I agree, it would be messy. Lawsuits, death threats, and everything they built would come crumbling down.