US President Donald Trump has pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road dark web marketplace, who was serving a life sentence for his role in creating the platform. The pardon, announced late Tuesday fulfills a campaign promise Trump made last year to Ulbricht’s supporters, particularly those in the Libertarian movement.
"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. 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. He was given two life sentences, plus 40 years. Ridiculous!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Silk Road, an online black market launched in 2011 by Ulbricht under the pseudonym "Dread Pirate Roberts, operated on the dark web as a hidden service on the Tor network. It allows users to buy and sell illicit items, including hard drugs, hacking equipment, and stolen passports, using Bitcoin for transactions.
As part of the case, the government had seized 173,991 Bitcoins from Ulbricht, which were worth approximately $33.6 million at the time but are now valued at over $18 billion.
Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison in 2015 for his connection to the Silk Road, with charges including drug trafficking, money laundering, and computer hacking.
Online rights activists who argued the life sentence was too harsh and disproportionate, welcomed the release, and thanked Trump for honoring his campaign promise unlike most politicians.
