Trump pardons Silk Road dark web market creator Ross Ulbricht

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Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht gets Presidential pardon

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(Image credit: Getty Images)
  • President Donald Trump has signed a “full and unconditional” pardon for Ross Ulbricht
  • The Silk Road operator had received two life sentences and a further 40 years
  • Trump said the same “lunatics” were behind the fight against him

President Trump has signed a “full and unconditional” pardon for Silk Road foudner and operator Ross Ulbricht.

Silk Road was a notorious dark web marketplace selling illegal drugs, hacking tools and stolen passports during its operation between 2011 and 2013.

Ulbricht, who has been in prison since 2015, was arrested in 2013 and later convicted in 2015 on charges of conspiracy to commit drug trafficking, money laundering and computer hacking. The result was two life sentences and a further 40 years without parole.

Trump pardons Silk Road operator

The President informed Ulbricht’s mother about the pardon via a phone call, he stated on TRUTH Social.

“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 post read.

Trump described the sentencing as “ridiculous,” adding the same “lunatics” who convicted Ulbricht were also involved in the “modern day weaponization of government against [himself].”

Silk Road was a dark web site accessible via the open source, decentralized Tor browser. It supported anonymized transactions via Bitcoin – something that he declared during his sentencing was important to his desire to “empower people to make choices in their lives and have privacy and anonymity.”

It’s believed that the site generated more than $200 million in drug sales during its short two-year lifespan, but Ulbricht acknowledged the site’s unintended consequences. Court documents also indicated the site had close to a million registered users.

“I was trying to help us move toward a freer and more equitable world,” he said in 2021 (via SiliconANGLE).

Ulbricht, who went by the pseudonym ‘Dread Pirate Roberts,’ was also accused of soliciting six murders-for-hire, however no evidence was found.

The now-president had previously pledged to commute Ulbricht’s sentence immediately if he was reelected, which Ulbright shared to X on May 26, 2024.

No further comments from Trump or Ulbricht have been shared at this time.

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Craig Hale
Craig Hale

With several years’ experience freelancing in tech and automotive circles, Craig’s specific interests lie in technology that is designed to better our lives, including AI and ML, productivity aids, and smart fitness. He is also passionate about cars and the decarbonisation of personal transportation. As an avid bargain-hunter, you can be sure that any deal Craig finds is top value!

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