President Donald Trump has pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road who was convicted of money laundering, drug trafficking and computer hacking. “I just called Ross William Ulbright’s mother [sic] to let him know that out of respect for him and the Libertarian Movement, who supported me so much, it was my pleasure to just sign a full and unconditional pardon for his son, Ross,” Trump said on Truth Social.
Ulbricht has been serving a life sentence since 2015. Prosecutions created by Ulbricht’s dark web market “were used by thousands of drug dealers and other illegal dealers to distribute hundreds of kilograms of illegal drugs and other illegal goods and services to more than 100,000 people. consumers, and embezzling hundreds of millions of dollars from these illegal transactions.” Ulbricht was also accused of trying to make his enemies, although prosecutors said “there is no evidence that this murder was actually committed.”
Ulbricht’s release comes after he tried to appeal his sentence in 2017. Crypto enthusiasts, many of them during the 2024 election, have long argued that his sentence was too harsh. Trump said he would commute Ulbricht’s sentence “on day one” if re-elected.