They could, but the optics of such an action would be really, really bad. Moreover, my gut feeling is that most researchers that use sci-hub could obtain most of the papers through their employer's subscription anyway. It's just that the UX of Sci-Hub is so much better.
I'm willing to bet publishers understand that will make any remaining good will they have with the people who generate their content evaporate
Hostages aren’t usually full good will, and hostage takers aren’t the best negotiators.