US President Donald Trump has granted a full and unconditional pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the creator of Silk Road, an infamous dark web marketplace used to sell illegal drugs and other illicit goods.
Ulbricht, who was convicted in 2015 of narcotics trafficking and money laundering, had been serving a life sentence in prison. He was arrested in 2013 and Silk Road was shut down soon after. The website facilitated the anonymous sale of drugs, hacking tools, and stolen passports, with transactions conducted in Bitcoin.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump revealed he had personally informed Ulbricht’s mother of the pardon. He criticized the prosecutors involved in Ulbricht’s conviction, calling them “lunatics” and suggesting they were part of a broader effort to target him as well. Trump argued that Ulbricht’s sentence—two life terms plus 40 years—was “ridiculous.”
Ulbricht ran Silk Road under the alias “Dread Pirate Roberts,” a nod to a character from the film The Princess Bride. During his trial, prosecutors claimed that Silk Road was responsible for the sale of over $200 million worth of illegal drugs. They also accused him of attempting to arrange six murders-for-hire, although no evidence suggested that any killings occurred.
The Silk Road was a notorious site on the “dark web,” accessible only through Tor, an online service that anonymizes users’ locations and identities. At its peak, the site had nearly a million registered users, though the number of active users is unknown.
At Ulbricht’s sentencing, District Judge Katherine Forrest emphasized the severity of the crime, saying the site was Ulbricht’s “carefully planned life’s work.” She also warned that the lengthy sentence would serve as a deterrent to others who might consider similar actions. Ulbricht, who holds two college degrees, expressed regret at the sentencing, stating that his goal was to empower people to make choices in life while maintaining their privacy and anonymity.
Trump had hinted at a potential commutation for Ulbricht’s sentence during a speech last year at the Libertarian National Convention, where supporters argued that his case exemplified government overreach. Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, a vocal advocate for Ulbricht’s release, praised the president’s decision, thanking him for following through on his pledge to secure Ulbricht’s freedom.
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