The founder of the Ross Ulbricht drug market speaks after Trump’s pardon | Technological news
The founder of the Silk Road thanks to the US president for the ‘incredible blessing’ in the video after leaving prison.
Ross Ulbricht, founder of a dark web market pardoned by the President of the United States Donald TrumpFor the first time, he spoke to leaving prison.
Ulbricht, 40, was sentenced to two lifetime prison in 2015, plus 40 years, for running Silk Road, an illegal online market for which US prosecutors said it had enabled $ 183 million in drug sales using Bitcoin.
On Tuesday, Trump gave Ulbricht a completely and unconditional pardon, fulfilling his promise from the Libertarian campaign and the cryptocurrency lovers who were lobbied for his release.
In a video posted on X on Friday, Ulbricht expressed his gratitude to Trump for pardoning him.
“I was a lifelong without a pardon and I was closed for over 11 years, but he let me out. I’m a free man now. So let him know that Donald Trump is a man of words, ”he said.
“Thank you very much, Trump president, for giving me this incredible blessing. So, so grateful that my life is coming back, that my future is coming back, having another opportunity. “
Ulbricht said he was planning to spend time with his family, but that he would have more to say in the future.
“This is a victory, and that’s your victory. And this is an important moment for everyone, everywhere, who love freedom and who care about another occasion, ”he said.
“It’s an amazing feeling to be free, at least. It’s overwhelming. ”
– Ross Ulbricht (@realrossa) January 24, 2025
Ulbricht’s case was considered by the example of government overdue by Libertarians and supporters of Kripto, who claimed that he was unjustly chased by the transactions made by other people and that his sentence did not correspond to the crime.
Ulbricht’s lawyers also claimed that although he created the page, he left the control of others after only a few months and that he was lured back like a fake just as the authorities approached.
By publishing his pardon, Trump marked Ulbricht’s punishment “ridiculous” and said that some of the “same lunatics who were involved in the modern armament of the Government against me were responsible for his criminal chase.”
US prosecutors declared Ulbrichta a criminal brain guided by money for money and powers, stating that the drug sold on his page caused the death of six people.
Prosecutors also claimed that Ulbricht persuaded the killings of people he considered to be threatened with his surgery, although he was not convicted of any such crime and no evidence was presented that anyone was truly killed.
While some Republicans were known for their representation of the Libertarian views of Trump’s pardon, the move caused a condemnation of a number of democratic laws.
“The pardon of the King of the drug trade is a slap to the families who lost their loved ones for his crimes,” said Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto in the post on X.
“Donald Trump should explain to them how much of this makes America safer. It’s an insult. ”
