President Donald Trump announced Tuesday a pardon for Ross Ulbricht, ending the Silk Road founder’s more than decade-long imprisonment.
In a social media post on Truth Social, Trump said he had granted Ulbricht a “full and unconditional pardon,” citing support from the Libertarian movement and criticizing the government’s handling of Ulbricht’s case.
From 2011 to 2013, Ulbricht operated the Silk Road marketplace, going by the nickname Dread Pirate Roberts.
Prosecutors said the site served over 100,000 buyers, facilitating illegal drug sales and laundering hundreds of millions of dollars. According to the FBI, the Silk Road made $13 million in Bitcoin through commissions.
Ulbricht was arrested by the FBI on October 1, 2013, in San Francisco. Now 40, Ulbricht was convicted in 2015 on charges including conspiracy to traffic narcotics and money laundering in connection with the Silk Road.
He received a sentence of two life terms plus 40 years without parole, sparking years of debate over the fairness of his punishment. In his post, Trump labeled Ross’ sentence as “ridiculous.”
“The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics involved in the modern-day weaponization of government against me,” Trump wrote Tuesday.
Since Ulbricht’s 2015 conviction, the “Free Ross” campaign spearheaded by his mother, Lyn Ulbricht, worked to keep Ulbricht’s name in the public eye and secure his eventual freedom.
During his run for reelection, Trump promised to commute Ulbricht “on day one” in a bid to curry favor with Libertarians and the Bitcoin community.
It follows eight months since Trump reignited hopes for the Silk Road founder’s release.
“If you vote for me, on day one, I will commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht,” Trump declared at the 2024 Libertarian National Convention in May.
The Libertarian movement played a crucial role in Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential victory by mobilizing a key voter base in critical swing states.
“Thank you for honoring your pledge to Ross, to our members, and to libertarians everywhere, [Donald Trump],” the Libertarian Party said on X on Tuesday.
On January 20, 2025, the day Trump took office, hope began to dim as the day passed and no news or pardon had been issued as promised. On Monday night, rumors began to circulate that a pardon was imminent.
Ross’ pardon is expected to draw sharp reactions from both supporters and critics.
Advocates for Ulbricht have long argued his sentence was excessive, while opponents highlight the scale of criminal activity linked to the defunct dark web marketplace.
It is unclear when Ulbricht will leave the U.S. Penitentiary in Tuscon, Arizona, where he has spent the last decade.
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