7 hours ago
Last Updated:January 22, 2025, 12:53 IST
President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to announce his decision to grant clemency to 'Silk Road' creator Ross Ulbricht
US President Donald Trump granted clemency to 'Silk Road' creator Ross Ulbricht. (Source: Reuters)
United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a “full and unconditional" pardon to the founder of the notorious dark web site Silk Road Ross Ulbricht.
The Republican leader announced his decision to grant clemency to Ulbricht on Truth Social.
“I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbright [sic] to let her know that in honour 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.
“The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern-day weaponisation of government against me. He was given two life sentences, plus 40 years. Ridiculous!" Trump wrote.
Who Is Ross Ulbricht?
Ross Ulbricht was born on March 27, 1984, in Austin, Texas and was a high achiever as a student. He graduated in physics from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2006 and received a master’s degree in materials science and engineering from Pennsylvania State University.
Ulbricht started Silk Road, which is a darknet marketplace, in 2011. This was an anonymous and freewheeling platform for trade and was powered by cryptocurrency.
It used Bitcoin as its currency and operated on the Tor network. The platform allowed users to carry out transactions without making a revelation of their locations or identities.
In a span of two years, the Silk Road became a hub for illegal activities and started generating a revenue of more than $200 million.
According to the prosecutors, Ulbricht used to operate under the alias ‘Dread Pirate Roberts’ and orchestrated the operations of Silk Road.
He faced various allegations which even including soliciting murders to save the platform.
In October 2013, Ulbricht was arrested in San Francisco. In February 2015, he was convicted on charges which included drug trafficking, money laundering and computer hacking. The court sentenced him to life imprisonment.
Reacting to his sentencing, Ulbricht had said, “I wanted to empower people to make choices in their lives and have privacy and anonymity."
Location :Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
First Published:January 22, 2025, 12:52 IST
News world Trump Pardons Dark Web 'Silk Road' Creator Ross Ulbricht. Here's Who He Is
