President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday (21) that he granted a pardon to the founder of the Silk Roadn marketplace.
Ross William Ulbricht, who was accused of creating the shadowy e-commerce site that the Justice Department described as “the most sophisticated and pervasive criminal marketplace on the Internet today,” was serving a life sentence on charges related to the operation.
“I just called Ross William Ulbricht’s mother to inform her that in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly, it was my pleasure to sign a full and unconditional pardon for her son, Ross,” he wrote. Trump on the Truth Social platform.
Trump called Ulbricht’s sentence “ridiculous,” claiming it was disproportionate to the crime.
He continued to express frustration with the legal figures involved in Ulbricht’s conviction, referring to them as “scum” and accusing them of being among the same individuals responsible for “weaponizing the government” against him during his time in office.
The FBI shut down Silk Road in October 2013 and arrested Ulbricht after he allegedly posted his email address online. He was found guilty in February 2015 on a variety of charges, including money laundering, drug trafficking and computer hacking.
Trump’s act of clemency fulfills a campaign promise. In May 2024, Trump promised in remarks to the Libertarian Convention in Washington, D.C. to commute Ulbricht’s sentence immediately.
The Southern District of New York declined to comment on the pardon.
