US President Donald Trump announced on the social network Truth Social that he had “fully and unconditionally” pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the darknet marketplace Silk Road, which was shut down in 2013.
[td]“I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbricht to let her know that in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement that has supported me so passionately, I have happily signed a full and unconditional pardon for her son, Ross. The scum who worked to convict him are the same crazies who used the machinery of government against me in the modern world. He was given two life sentences plus 40 years. Ridiculous!” Donald Trump wrote.[/td]
Let us recall that last year, during his speech at the Libertarian National Congress in Washington, Trump promised that if he was re-elected as US President, he would replace the life sentence of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht with the time already served. Thus, he has now fulfilled one of his campaign promises.
Let us recall that Ross Ulbricht was sentenced back in 2015. At that time, the founder of the infamous Silk Road marketplace was sentenced to life imprisonment, summing up the terms for drug trafficking, hacking, trading in false documents and money laundering. In fact, Ulbricht was sentenced to two life terms plus another 40 years, that is, life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
The Silk Road website itself, which appeared in 2011, was closed 11 years ago , in 2013. Interestingly, the darknet marketplace is considered one of the first real-world examples of Bitcoin use.
Following his arrest and sentencing, Ulbricht became an iconic figure for many in the crypto community, as well as many libertarians who believed that the sentence was an abuse of power and a violation of his constitutional rights. Back in 2018, the Libertarian Party had already called on then-President Trump to pardon Ross Ulbricht.
Ulbricht’s lawyer, Joshua Dratel, told the media that he was “extremely pleased that this injustice has been righted.” According to him, the pardon ensures that Ulbricht “has his whole life ahead of him,” and will now be able to “become the productive person he could have been all these years.”
Let us recall that last year, during his speech at the Libertarian National Congress in Washington, Trump promised that if he was re-elected as US President, he would replace the life sentence of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht with the time already served. Thus, he has now fulfilled one of his campaign promises.
Let us recall that Ross Ulbricht was sentenced back in 2015. At that time, the founder of the infamous Silk Road marketplace was sentenced to life imprisonment, summing up the terms for drug trafficking, hacking, trading in false documents and money laundering. In fact, Ulbricht was sentenced to two life terms plus another 40 years, that is, life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
The Silk Road website itself, which appeared in 2011, was closed 11 years ago , in 2013. Interestingly, the darknet marketplace is considered one of the first real-world examples of Bitcoin use.
Following his arrest and sentencing, Ulbricht became an iconic figure for many in the crypto community, as well as many libertarians who believed that the sentence was an abuse of power and a violation of his constitutional rights. Back in 2018, the Libertarian Party had already called on then-President Trump to pardon Ross Ulbricht.
Ulbricht’s lawyer, Joshua Dratel, told the media that he was “extremely pleased that this injustice has been righted.” According to him, the pardon ensures that Ulbricht “has his whole life ahead of him,” and will now be able to “become the productive person he could have been all these years.”