Ross Ulbricht, creator of a dark web site that sold illegal drugs, stolen passports and hacking equipment, was pardoned by President Donald Trump this Tuesday (21).
Trump said he had called Ulbricht’s mother to inform her that he would pardon her son “in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly.”
The move received praise from the Libertarian party, which has advocated the legalization of drugs and has long pushed for Ulbricht’s release, calling the case an example of excessive government power.
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Trump had announced plans to commute Ulbricht’s sentence in May during a speech at the Libertarian party’s national convention.
The then 26-year-old was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 2015 for owning and operating the website known as Silk Road. In addition, he would need to pay a fine of US$183.9 million.
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“Make no mistake: Ulbricht was a drug dealer and a criminal who exploited people’s addictions and contributed to the deaths of at least six young people,” said Preet Bharara, U.S. attorney at the time of his arrest.
According to documents presented at his trial, Ulbricht created Silk Road in January 2011 and owned and operated the site until it was shut down by police in October 2013.
Silk Road was used by thousands of drug traffickers, distributing hundreds of kilograms of illegal drugs to more than 100,000 buyers, transacting more than US$200 million. Ulbricht was accused of earning more than $13 million in commissions.
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Ulbricht was accused of using a Bitcoin-based payment system to facilitate illegal activities on the site and used a special network to hide the identities and locations of its users.
Prosecutors also alleged that Ulbricht was willing to use violence to protect his criminal enterprise.
They said he ordered six murders, including one against a former employee. However, Ulbricht was never tried for this.
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After the sentence, Ulbricht said he regretted it.
“I basically ruined my life and broke the hearts of every member of my family and my closest friends,” he said. He left the courtroom carrying photographs of those who died as a result of drugs purchased on his website.
Now 39, he recently wrote to President Joe Biden in October 2022, begging for his release.
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He said he worked with prisoners to overcome addictions and understand “the harm I caused by helping to promote drugs.”
On the second day of his presidency, Trump said he had called Ulbricht’s mother to let her know that “it was my pleasure to sign a full and unconditional pardon for your son.”
He called those who condemned Ulbricht “scum,” citing his own convictions: “[Eles] it was some of the same lunatics who were involved in the government’s modern-day frame-up against me.”
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“Ross Ulbricht has been a libertarian political prisoner for over a decade. I am proud to say that saving his life has been one of our top priorities and that it has finally come to fruition,” said Angela McArdle, the chair of the Libertarian National Committee.
Ulbritch left prison on Tuesday night.
