Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the dark Internet market Silk Road | Donald Trump
Ulbricht received two life sentences, plus 40 years for running the site, which allegedly facilitated $183 million in drug sales.
United States President Donald Trump has pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the jailed founder of the Silk Road dark-web black market.
Trump said Tuesday that he called Ulbricht’s mother to let her know he had signed a “full and unconditional pardon” for her son, who sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of a pardon in 2015 for his role in managing the illegal market.
“The scum who worked to impeach him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern weaponization of the government against me,” Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social.
“He received two life sentences, plus 40 years. Funny!”
Ulbricht, 40, was convicted on seven counts related to his operation of Silk Road, which facilitated the sale of illegal drugs and other illicit goods using Bitcoin, including narcotics distribution and participation in a criminal enterprise.
US prosecutors alleged that the site was used to facilitate more than 1.5 million transactions worth approximately $213 million, including more than $183 million in drug sales.
Prosecutors also alleged that Ulbricht, who operated under the pseudonym Dread Pirate Roberts, solicited the murders of people he considered a threat to his company, even though he was not charged with allegedly planning the murders and no evidence was presented that anyone was actually killed.
Sentencing Ulbricht, US District Judge Katherine Forrest said the California man’s actions were his “carefully planned life’s work” and that he was “no better person than any other drug dealer”.
While Ulbricht admitted to creating Silk Road, his lawyers argued that he transferred control of his “economic experiment” to others after a few months and was lured to take the blame for its real operators just as the authorities closed in.
Ulbricht’s case was seen as an example of government overreach by libertarians and cryptocurrency enthusiasts, who argued that he was unfairly prosecuted since he was not selling illegal goods himself and was held responsible for the transactions of people using the site.
In May, Trump told the national convention of the Libertarian Party, a fringe party that has no representation in the US Congress, that he would commute Ulbricht’s sentence on the first day of his administration if elected.
After Trump’s election in November, Ulbricht expressed his gratitude to those who voted for the Republican on his behalf.
“I trust him to fulfill his promise and give me a second chance. After 11+ years in the dark, I can finally see the light of freedom at the end of the tunnel,” he said in a post on X.
Thomas Massie, a Republican congressman known for championing libertarian causes, was among a number of Ulbricht supporters who welcomed news of the pardon.
“Ross Ulbricht was released by President Trump with a full pardon! Thank you for keeping your word to me and others who stood up for Ross’ freedom, Mr. President!,” Massie, who represents a district in Kentucky, said in a post on X.
