Trump pardons Ross Ulbricht, founder of Silk Road drug marketplace
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Ulbricht, sentenced to life in prison in 2015, given ‘full and unconditional’ pardon by president. Donald Trump has granted a “full and unconditional” pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the illegal online drug marketplace the Silk Road. Ulbricht has been incarcerated since 2013 and was sentenced to life in prison in 2015 for running the underground market where drug dealers and others conducted more than $200m in illicit trade using the cryptocurrency bitcoin. Trump said he had called Ulbricht’s mother to tell her he would pardon her son “in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly”.
“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,” the president said in a Truth Social post.
The move drew praise from the Libertarian party, which has advocated for drug legalization, and has long pushed for Ulbricht’s release, calling the case an example of government overreach. Trump had announced plans to commute Ulbricht’s sentence in May during a speech at the Libertarian national convention.
“Ross Ulbricht has been a libertarian political prisoner for more than a decade. I’m proud to say that saving his life has been one of our top priorities and that has finally paid off,” said Angela McArdle, the chair of the Libertarian National Committee.
