President Donald Trump announced Tuesday on Truth Social that he had signed a full pardon for Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the “Silk Road” website.
In 2015, Ulbricht was sentenced to two life terms and an additional 40 years in prison for creating the Silk Road, a website used for various illegal activities, including the sale of narcotics, hacking services and the distribution of false IDs. Trump said he had called Ulbricht’s mother to inform her of the pardon and said that the libertarian movement and Ulbricht’s supporters had advocated for him.
“I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbricht to let her know that in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly, it was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross,” Trump wrote.
“The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern day weaponization of government against me,” Trump added. “He was given two life sentences, plus 40 years. Ridiculous!”
In May 2024, Trump, while he was on the campaign trail, spoke at the Libertarian National Convention and announced on stage his promise to free Ulbricht if he were to win the general election in November.
“If you vote for me, on day one I will commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht who will have a sentence of time served,” Trump said as the crowd applauded. “He’s already served 11 years. We are going to get him home.”
In response to the announcement, the Libertarian Party released a statement on their X account, with Libertarian National Committee Chair Angela McArdle thanking Trump.
Featured Image Credit: U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Cristian L. Ricardo
