US President Donald Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, founder of Silk Road, who was sentenced to prison after being convicted of money laundering, drug smuggling and computer hacking. “I just called Ross William Albright’s mother [sic] “Let me tell her that in her honor and in honor of the libertarian movement that has supported me so strongly, I was pleased that I have just signed a full and unconditional pardon for her son, Ross,” Trump said. On social truth.
Ulbricht has been serving a life sentence since 2015. Prosecutors The dark web marketplace created by Ulbricht “was used by thousands of drug dealers and other illegal sellers to distribute hundreds of kilograms of illicit drugs and other illegal goods and services to more than one hundred thousand buyers, and to launder hundreds of millions of dollars generated from these Illegal transactions.” Ulbricht was also accused of attempting this of his supposed enemies, although prosecutors said there was “no evidence that these murders were actually carried out.”
Ulbricht’s reprieve comes after he attempted to appeal his sentence in 2017. During the 2024 election, they have long argued that his punishment was too harsh. Trump said He would commute Ulbricht’s sentence “on day one” if re-elected.