Silk Road Creator, Ross Ulbricht FREE After Presidential Pardon

Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the online black market website, Silk Road, was released from prison this morning thanks to a presidential pardon from Donald Trump.

In 2015, Ulbricht was sentenced to double life in prison plus 40 years without the possibility of parole by a jury in New York. Ulbricht was convicted on a number of counts including, money laundering, computer hacking, trafficking narcotics, and continuing a criminal enterprise.

Ulbricht was also ordered to pay about $183 million in restitution, based on the sales through Silk Road. He is no longer obligated to pay the restitution amount.

At the Libertarian National Convention on May 25, 2024, Trump promised to pardon Ulbricht and has swiftly followed through, freeing Ulbricht on his second day in office.

Representative Thomas Massie thanked Trump for keeping his word to all the people who advocated for Ross' freedom. Elon Musk has also been an influential advocate for Ross, posting updates to assure people that Trump would make good on his promise.

Given this case happened over a decade ago, there are many people who don't know the details of Ulbricht's arrest and conviction and are confused why he was pardoned.

There are a few arguments floating around. First, many people believe the sentence was too harsh. Second, there is a strong argument that the FBI broke the law when apprehending Ulbricht. And thirdly, some people believe the FBI set Ulbricht up with a fake murder case and also stole money from Silk Road.

Donald Trump further back some of these claims when he suggested that the people who convicted Ulbricht were the same people who weaponised the government against him.

Ross Ulbricht has been released from United States Penitentiary, Tucson in Arizona. He has not posted on social media since the 19th of January – the internet is eagerly waiting for a statement or interview.

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