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Donald Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, creator of Silk Road, citing an overreached conviction. Libertarians celebrated, calling Ulbricht a "political prisoner" and criticizing harsh drug policies.
Ross Ulbricht. (Picture source: X/@RealRossU)
UPDATED: Jan 23, 2025 09:36 IST
President Donald Trump has issued a pardon for Ross Ulbricht, who was sentenced to life in prison nearly a decade ago for creating the Silk Road, an underground website for selling drugs.
Trump posted on Truth Social that he had spoken to Ulbricht’s mother on his first full day in office. “It was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross,” he wrote. “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.”
Trump called Ulbricht’s prison sentence “ridiculous.”
Trump had promised to help Ulbricht during a speech at the Libertarian Party Convention last May, reports The Associated Press.
Libertarian activists, who generally oppose criminal drug policies, have long believed that government investigators overreached in building their case against Silk Road. Many held “Free Ross” signs.
“Ross Ulbricht has been a libertarian political prisoner for more than a decade,” said a statement from Libertarian Committee Chair Angela McArdle. “I’m proud to say that saving his life has been one of our top priorities and that has finally paid off.”
Brief History
The Silk Road was a digital marketplace for illegal goods and services. It was accessible only through Tor, a browser designed to mask users' locations. On January 27, 2011, a tax agent found a post about the Silk Road on an online forum. Eight months later, the same user published a job posting linked to an email account registered to Ross Ulbricht. Investigators traced network records using court warrants. These efforts led to the identification of Ulbricht as a suspect. The FBI arrested Ross Ulbricht and seized his laptop on October 1, 2013. In 2015, he was sentenced to life in prison for charges including drug trafficking, computer hacking, and money laundering. The Silk Road generated hundreds of millions of dollars in sales. More than $13 million worth of Bitcoin was earned in commissions. On November 3, 2020, over $1 billion worth of digital currency was seized by law enforcement related to this case.Source: FBI
Published By:
indiatodayglobal
Published On:
Jan 23, 2025
