Key takeaways
- Donald Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, fulfilling a promise made during his re-election campaign.
- The pardon has received support from libertarians and crypto advocates who considered Ulbricht’s life sentence excessive.
President Donald Trump has granted a full and unconditional pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the infamous Silk Road marketplace. This decision fulfills a key campaign promise Trump made during his re-election bid, although it came later than expected.
Trump announced the pardon by Truth Social, who says he informed Ross Ulbricht’s mother of the decision, and honored her and the libertarian movement. He criticized the prosecutors involved, calling the double life sentence plus 40 years “ridiculous”.
“Words cannot express how grateful we are,” the family’s Free Ross campaign account wrote at X. “President Trump is a man of his word and he just saved Ross’s life. ROSS IS A FREE MAN!!!!!”
In May 2024, Trump promised to commute Ulbricht’s sentence on his first day in office during his speech at the Libertarian National Convention. He repeated his promise at the Bitcoin 2024 conference later July, which has led many to believe that he will go through now that he has taken office.
“If you vote for me, day one I’m going to commute Ross Ulbricht’s sentence to time served. He’s already served 11 years. We’re going to bring him home,” Trump said, speaking at the Libertarian National Convention.
“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. After 11 years in prison, it’s hard to express how I feel right now. It’s thanks to your undying support that I can get a second chance,” Ulbricht expressed his gratitude the day after the X.
Ulbricht has served about 11 years in prison since he was sentenced to a double life sentence, plus 40 years, without parole in 2015 for his role in creating and running the Silk Road, known for selling illegal drugs and other illicit goods.
His case has received widespread attention and support from libertarians, crypto advocates and those who argue that his sentence was excessively harsh.
Elon Musk said On Monday, Ulbricht was set to be “released,” in response to a call from an X user.
Angela McArdle, chairwoman of the Libertarian National Committee, also reported that Trump’s staff assured her that a pardon for Ulbricht was on the way.
