CNN
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President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he had pardoned Ross William Ulbricht, the founder of the dark web marketplace Silk Road.
Ulbricht, accused of creating the obscure e-commerce site that the Justice Department had described as “the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the Internet today,” was serving a life sentence for charges related to this operation.
“I just called Ross William Ulbricht’s mother to let her know that in her honor and in honor of the libertarian movement, which has supported me so strongly, I had the pleasure of signing a full pardon and unconditional love for his son, Ross,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Trump called Ulbricht’s sentence “ridiculous,” saying it was disproportionate to the crime. He later expressed frustration with the legal figures involved in Ulbricht’s conviction, calling them “scum” and accusing them of being among the same individuals responsible for the “militarization of government” against him during his tenure. .
The FBI shut down Silk Road in October 2013 and arrested Ulbricht after allegedly posting his email address online. He was convicted in February 2015 of various charges, including money laundering, drug trafficking and computer hacking.
Trump’s act of clemency fulfills his campaign promise. In May 2024, Trump pledged in a speech at the Libertarian Party national convention in Washington, D.C., to commute Ulbricht’s sentence immediately after taking office.
“If you vote for me, on day one, I will commute Ross Ulbricht’s sentence to time served,” Trump said at the time. “He has already served 11 years. We’ll take him home.
Libertarian National Committee Chair Angela McArdle celebrated the announcement Tuesday, calling Ulbricht a “libertarian political prisoner for over a decade.”
“I am proud to say that saving his life was one of our top priorities and it ultimately paid off,” McArdle said in a statement that also thanked Trump for keeping his vow.
The government had alleged that Ulbricht, who went by the pseudonym “Dread Pirate Roberts,” a nod to the fictional character in the film “The Princess Bride,” founded the site in 2011. The now-defunct marketplace allowed users to exchange drugs and drugs anonymously. other illegal goods and services in near-total secrecy using Bitcoin. According to the indictment, Silk Road acquired nearly 1 million registered users worldwide, approximately 30% of whom were based in the United States.
Ulbricht was found guilty following a four-week jury trial. Preet Bharara, then the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said at the time that “Ulbricht was a drug dealer and criminal profiteer who preyed on people’s addictions and contributed to the deaths of at least six young people.” “.
“Ulbricht, who hid his identity as a cybercriminal, became the face of cybercrime and, as today’s sentence proves, no one is above the law,” Bharara said.
The Southern District of New York declined to comment on the pardon. Bharara also declined to comment.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Kara Scannell and Piper Hudspeth Blackburn contributed to this report.