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On January 21, 2025, President Donald Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that he had granted a full pardon to Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht. The pardon, signed one day after Trump was sworn into his second term as president, saw Ulbricht gain clemency after being sentenced in 2015 on charges like money laundering, computer hacking, and drug trafficking.
For the unversed, Ross Ulbricht founded Silk Road, a dark web marketplace, in 2011. During his trial, prosecutors described the website as a "global black market bazaar" where people bought and sold things, including illegal drugs, using bitcoins. According to CNN, Silk Road had nearly 1 million registered users, with 30% in the U.S.
A picture of Ross Ulbricht leaving prison following his pardon went viral on social media. In the image, Ulbricht is seen in what is presumed to be a parking lot, holding a mesh bag in one hand and a potted plant in the other. Netizens took to X to share their opinion about the picture, with one user tweeting:
"You know bro was eating good in prison."
Following his release, some netizens sent well wishes to Ulbricht. Others wondered if the Silk Road founder would share his side of the story.
"It's been a long journey for Ross. I hope he finds peace and a fresh start in this new chapter of his life," one person posted.
"Ross on Rogan next week is gonna be a great listen," another user added.
"What an amazing day for the crypto community! Lets go!," someone else commented.
"He's gonna do great things now," another user wrote.
Others praised Trump for fulfilling his Day 1 promises, asking that the president release others like Julian Assange and Edward Snowden.
"So far Trump is batting 1.000 on promises kept," one person tweeted.
"Knew Trump would come through for the crypto OGs," another user added.
"Now that he has pardoned Ross Ulbricht, Trump should pardon Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, and Roger Ver," someone else commented.
Donald Trump revealed his plan to pardon Ross Ulbricht during his presidential campaign
Ross Ulbricht's arrest and subsequent sentencing were criticized by cryptocurrency aficionados and the Libertarian Party, who rallied for his freedom for years. The Party claimed Ulbricht's arrest was an example of "government overreach," calling for the Silk Road founder's release.
Amid his presidential campaign, Donald Trump announced his plans to pardon Ulbricht if he was elected president during his speech at the Libertarian National Convention in 2024. Trump marched to victory with a landslide win during the November 2024 election and was sworn into office for his second term on January 20.
Following his swearing-in, Trump took to Truth Social on January 21 to announce he had called Ulbricht's mother to inform her of her son's release from prison. The President dubbed Ulbricht's sentence "ridiculous," writing:
"The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same l*natics who were involved in the modern day weaponization of government against me. He was given two life sentences, plus 40 years. Ridiculous!"
Silk Road was shut down in 2013
During his 2015 sentencing, Ross Ulbricht claimed he started Silk Road "to empower people to make choices in their lives and have privacy and anonymity." The website operated on the Tor network to protect users' identities, and purchases were only made via cryptocurrency.
Ross Ulbricht allegedly ran the website under the moniker Dread Pirate Roberts (inspired by the film The Princess Bride). Silk Road was shut down in 2013 following Ross Ulbricht's arrest. During the trial, prosecutors claimed that the website had sold over $200 million worth of drugs anonymously.
They also alleged Ulbricht was behind six murders-for-hire, including one of a Silk Road employee, however, they had no evidence to link Ulbricht to the murders. Ulbricht was found guilty of computer hacking, money laundering, and drug trafficking, among other charges, during his trial.
He received a life sentence, with U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest (who presided over the trial), stating his crimes were "unprecedented."
"What you did was unprecedented. And in breaking that ground as the first person, you sit here as the defendant having to pay the consequences for that," she added.
In other news, Ross Ulbricht's pardon was one of the many Donald Trump signed during his first few days as the 47th President. He also pardoned around 1500 people involved in the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
