Trump says he pardoned founder of Silk Road criminal marketplace
CNN
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he had granted a pardon to Ross William Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road dark web marketplace.
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he had granted a pardon to Ross William Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road dark web marketplace. Ulbricht, who was accused of creating the shadowy e-commerce site the Justice Department had described as “the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the Internet today,” had been serving a life sentence on charges related to the operation. “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 on his Truth Social platform. Trump called Ulbricht’s sentence “ridiculous,” claiming it was disproportionate to the crime. He went on to express frustration with the legal figures involved in Ulbricht’s conviction, referring to them as “scum” and accusing them of being among the same individuals responsible for the “weaponization of government” against him during his time in office. The FBI shut down Silk Road in October 2013 and arrested Ulbricht after he allegedly posted his email address online. He was found guilty in February 2015 on a variety of charges including money laundering, drug trafficking and computer hacking. Trump’s act of clemency makes good on a campaign promise. In May 2024, Trump pledged in remarks to the Libertarian Party’s national convention in Washington, DC, to commute Ulbricht’s sentence immediately upon taking office.
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