Donald Trump pardons Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht

President Donald Trump has pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht after his of money laundering, narcotics trafficking and computer hacking. “I just called Ross William Ulbright’s mother [sic] “to let her know that in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which has so strongly supported me, I am pleased to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon for her son Ross,” Trump said in about Truth Social.

Ulbricht has been serving a life sentence since 2015. Prosecutors that the dark web marketplace created by Ulbricht “was used by thousands of drug dealers and other illicit sellers to distribute hundreds of pounds of illegal drugs and other illicit goods and services to over a hundred thousand buyers, and to launder hundreds of millions of dollars derived from these unlawful transactions.” Ulbricht was also accused of attempting to do so of his alleged enemies, although prosecutors said there was “no evidence that these murders were actually carried out.”

The reprieve for Ulbricht comes after he tried, to appeal his sentence in 2017. Crypto enthusiasts, many of them during the 2024 elections have long argued that his sentence was too harsh. Trump said that he would commute Ulbricht’s sentence “on day one” if he were re-elected.