Who is Ross Ulbricht? All about Silk Road online drug kingpin with Princess Bride nickname pardoned by Trump
Who is Ross Ulbricht? All about Silk Road online drug kingpin with Princess Bride nickname pardoned by Trump
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Prosecutors accused Ross Ulbricht’s Silk Road of facilitating $200 million in online drug deals. The president reposted messages on Truth Social calling Ulbricht’s case “one of the most corrupt, unjust prosecutions in modern history,” and claiming Trump knew it was a “frame-up job by the same people who hated him.”. Last week, Ulbricht weighed in about the pardon, sharing a photo on X of himself and his wife, saying the reprieve showed “our prayers [were] finally answered.”.
Ulbricht’s pardon is the latest chapter in a long-running legal saga, rife with allegations of corruption, attempted murder-for-hire, and online criminality. Here’s what you need to know:. Who is Ross Ulbricht and what was he convicted of?. In 2015, after undercover agents made more than 60 purchases of illegal drugs on the site, Ulbricht was given two life sentences without the possibility of parole on a variety of charges, including drug distribution and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Why do people criticize the case against Ross Ulbricht?. Ulbricht, even before his pardon, was a cause célèbre in certain corners of the political right, the cryptocurrency world, and the libertarian movement, all of whom argued Ulbricht was unfairly prosecuted. They also noted that Ulbricht’s harsh sentence was in part influenced by allegations, which the court upheld on a preponderance of the evidence, that the Silk Road founder solicited six murders for hire, even though prosecutors didn’t introduce any evidence the killings had actually been carried out.
Why did Trump pardon Ross Ulbricht?. Trump reportedly came close to issuing a pardon at the end of his first term, but elected not to, given the controversies surrounding Trump supporters’ January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. The lobbying on Ulbricht’s behalf included a dinner with Libertarian National Committee chair Angela McArdle at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate as Trump worked on his White House comeback.
