(Headline USA) President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he had pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, an underground website where consenting adults could conduct transactions anonymously.
Ulbricht had been sentenced to life in prison in 2015 after a high-profile prosecution that highlighted the role of the internet in illegal markets. Silk Road was used by drug traffickers and other criminals—but Ulricht’s sentence was harsher than some dealers who sell more than $1 million worth of drugs.
Ross Ulbricht has been fully pardoned. pic.twitter.com/ZXeH3lgXE9
— Dr. Ben Braddock (@GraduatedBen) January 22, 2025
Trump posted on Truth Social, his social media website, that he had spoken to Ulbricht’s mother on his first full day in office.
“It was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross,” he 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 called Ulbricht’s prison sentence “ridiculous.”
He had promised to help Ulbricht during a speech at the Libertarian Party National Convention last May.
Libertarian activists, who generally oppose criminal drug policies, have long believed that government investigators overreached in building their case against Silk Road. Many held “Free Ross” signs.
Ross Ulbricht (@RealRossU) didn’t sell drugs—he built an anonymous, free, and open platform on Tor called Silk Road.
Silk Road sold apparel, art, books, collectibles, computer equipment, electronics, herbs, and yeah—drugs. But according to friends who used it, Silk Road was… pic.twitter.com/iNn2iHv4TA
— Ben Sigman (@bensig) January 22, 2025
“Ross Ulbricht has been a libertarian political prisoner for more than a decade,” said a statement from Libertarian National Committee Chair Angela McArdle. “I’m proud to say that saving his life has been one of our top priorities and that has finally paid off.”
Trump has been eagerly using his pardon power since beginning his second term. On Monday, hours after taking office, he wiped clean the records of roughly 1,500 people who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, protest at the U.S. Capitol. The decision, which applied to some people who were convicted of attacking police, upended the Justice Department’s sweeping investigation into the protest.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
