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President Trump pardons Silk Road creators, Ross Ulbricht 

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President Donald Trump fulfilled a campaign promise by granting pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the Silk Road. The newly inaugurated U.S. leader announced the decision on his Truth Social account.

“I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbricht to let her know that in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly, it was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross,” he said. 

Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, creator of Silk Road, fulfilling a promise. He criticized the punishment as excessive, honoring Ulbricht’s mother and supporters.

Donald Trump criticized the punishment given to Ross Ulbricht as excessive and unfair. 

“The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern-day weaponization of government against me.”

Ulbricht, the creator of the dark web marketplace Silk Road, was sentenced to two life terms plus an additional 40 years in prison without parole. 

Ross Ulbricht was known as an idealistic person with a strong interest in libertarian philosophy and free-market economics. After earning degrees in physics and material sciences, Ulbricht developed a fascination with decentralized systems and Bitcoin. 

Inspired by his political beliefs, he created Silk Road, an anonymous marketplace on the dark web, in 2011. The platform used Bitcoin to facilitate transactions and offered users complete anonymity, making it popular for trading illegal items, especially drugs.

Ulbricht operated the site under the pseudonym Dread Pirate Roberts, referencing a character from The Princess Bride to imply that the site’s leadership could be passed to others. While he marketed Silk Road as a space for freedom and economic choice, to law enforcement it was a hub for criminal activity, from drug trafficking to fraudulent services. 

This led the FBI to launch an intensive investigation into Silk Road, relying on sophisticated tracking techniques and information leaks to uncover its operator.

In October 2013, Ulbricht was arrested in a San Francisco public library while logged into Silk Road as its administrator. The investigation revealed his role as the platform’s creator, and he was charged with drug trafficking, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and computer hacking. Additionally, allegations emerged that he had commissioned murders-for-hire to protect the site’s operations, though these were never proven in court.

In 2015, Ulbricht faced trial in New York. Prosecutors argued that he knowingly facilitated drug deals on a massive scale, earning tens of millions in Bitcoin in the process. They emphasized the societal harm caused by the drugs sold through the platform. 

Ulbricht was convicted and received a life sentence without parole, an unusually harsh punishment for a first-time offender, according to some. Many viewed the sentence as excessive, sparking debates about overreach in the war on drugs and the ethics of punishing nonviolent offenders.

Over the years, Ulbricht’s case became a rallying cry for libertarians, criminal justice reform advocates, and members of the cryptocurrency community. His supporters argued that the sentence was disproportionate, highlighting his remorse and good behavior in prison.

Speaking to an audience at the Libertarian National Convention in May, 2024, Donald Trump said he would commute the sentence of Ulbricht on day one if elected president of the United States.

“If you vote for me, on day one I will commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht to a sentence of time served.” Just before receiving his pardon, the odds of having his sentences commuted in President Trump’s first 100 days in office rose to as high as 95% on prediction market Kalshi.

Ridiculous! President Trump called the Ross Ulbricht’s sentence. 

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