- Trump pardons Ulbricht fully and unconditionally
- Silk Road founder is free on Trump’s second day in office
Donald Trump’s claims during the presidential race that he would free Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht in the early days of his presidency turned out to be true. On Tuesday, Trump pardoned Ulbricht and emphasized that it is full and unconditional.
More About Silk Road & the Pardons for Ross Ulbricht
Hardly anyone is unfamiliar with the history of Silk Road and Ross Ulbricht but recalls that it was the first and largest online store, which in many ways played a big role in popularizing Bitcoin as the first to adopt it as a primary means of payment.
However, it has a dark side since 2011 the store operated for 2 years, was used by over 100,000 people to buy and sell $214M worth of illegal drugs and other illegal services, and its founder Ross Ulbricht administered it under the nickname Dread Pirate Roberts.
His activities were ended and Ross Ulbricht was arrested in 2013, followed by a trial, and a Manhattan jury in February 2015 convicted him on charges of Internet drug distribution and conspiracy to commit computer hacking and money laundering.
At trial, Ulbricht explained his motivation:
“I wanted to empower people to make choices in their lives and have privacy and anonymity.”
However, now-former U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest said in sentencing Ulbricht:
“What you did was unprecedented. And in breaking that ground as the first person, you sit here as the defendant having to pay the consequences for that.”
He received a life sentence in a federal prison in Arizona, and moving into today – Donald Trump made it one of his campaign promises to release him on his first day in office.
He has repeatedly expressed his position that the case against Ulbricht was first and foremost an act of “weaponization of government”, that he was subjected to as well.
And it can be said that Donald Trump kept his promise because, on the second day of his presidency, he shared a post on his social media platform Truth Social with its core messages.
After that he granted a pardon for Ross Ulbricht and already on Tuesday night he was released and Trump emphasized that his pardons are “full and unconditional.”
Ross Ulbricht has already been marked free-walking with a post on X.
Brandon Sample, Ulbricht’s clemency attorney, commented:
“After enduring over a decade of incarceration, this decision offers Ross the opportunity to begin anew, to rebuild his life, and to contribute positively to society.”
Conclusion
There is no doubt that the release of Ross Ulbricht will be the most controversial news because it affects a very polar attitude to this situation on many sides. However, it is good news for him, his family, and friends. It is also a strong political move for Donald Trump, which is probably designed to convince people that even his dubious promises he is ready to fulfill.
Be aware and stay tuned.
