President Donald Trump introduced Tuesday a pardon for Ross Ulbricht, ending the Silk Highway founder’s greater than decade-long imprisonment.
In a social media publish on Reality Social, Trump stated he had granted Ulbricht a “full and unconditional pardon,” citing help from the Libertarian motion and criticizing the federal government’s dealing with of Ulbricht’s case.
From 2011 to 2013, Ulbricht operated the Silk Highway market, going by the nickname Dread Pirate Roberts.
Prosecutors stated the location served over 100,000 patrons, facilitating unlawful drug gross sales and laundering lots of of tens of millions of {dollars}. Based on the FBI, the Silk Highway made $13 million in Bitcoin by means of commissions.
Ulbricht was arrested by the FBI on October 1, 2013, in San Francisco. Now 40, Ulbricht was convicted in 2015 on fees together with conspiracy to site visitors narcotics and cash laundering in reference to the Silk Highway.
He acquired a sentence of two life phrases plus 40 years with out parole, sparking years of debate over the equity of his punishment. In his publish, Trump labeled Ross’ sentence as “ridiculous.”
“The scum that labored to convict him have been among the similar lunatics concerned within the modern-day weaponization of presidency in opposition to me,” Trump wrote Tuesday.
Since Ulbricht’s 2015 conviction, the “Free Ross” marketing campaign spearheaded by his mom, Lyn Ulbricht, labored to maintain Ulbricht’s identify within the public eye and safe his eventual freedom.
Throughout his run for reelection, Trump promised to commute Ulbricht “on day one” in a bid to curry favor with Libertarians and the Bitcoin neighborhood.
It follows eight months since Trump reignited hopes for the Silk Highway founder’s launch.
“If you happen to vote for me, on day one, I’ll commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht,” Trump declared on the 2024 Libertarian Nationwide Conference in Could.
The Libertarian motion performed a vital function in Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential victory by mobilizing a key voter base in crucial swing states.
“Thanks for honoring your pledge to Ross, to our members, and to libertarians all over the place, [Donald Trump],” the Libertarian Social gathering stated on X on Tuesday.
On January 20, 2025, the day Trump took workplace, hope started to dim because the day handed and no information or pardon had been issued as promised. On Monday evening, rumors started to flow into {that a} pardon was imminent.
Ross’ pardon is anticipated to attract sharp reactions from each supporters and critics.
Advocates for Ulbricht have lengthy argued his sentence was extreme, whereas opponents spotlight the dimensions of felony exercise linked to the defunct darkish net market.
It’s unclear when Ulbricht will go away the U.S. Penitentiary in Tuscon, Arizona, the place he has spent the final decade.
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