President Donald Trump Announces Pardon of Ross Ulbricht, Founder of Silk Road Dark Web Marketplace
President Trump announced on Tuesday that he has granted a full and unconditional pardon to Ross William Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road dark web marketplace. Ulbricht, who was serving a life sentence for his role in creating the shadowy e-commerce site, was accused of creating the “most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the Internet today.”
Trump called Ulbricht’s sentence “ridiculous” and claimed it was disproportionate to the crime. He also expressed frustration with the legal figures involved in Ulbricht’s conviction, referring to them as “scum” and accusing them of being among those responsible for the “weaponization of government” against him during his time in office.
Ulbricht was found guilty in 2015 on charges including money laundering, drug trafficking, and computer hacking. The FBI shut down Silk Road in 2013 and arrested Ulbricht after he allegedly posted his email address online.
Trump’s act of clemency fulfills a campaign promise he made in 2024 to commute Ulbricht’s sentence to time served if he was elected. Libertarian National Committee Chair Angela McArdle celebrated the announcement, calling Ulbricht a “libertarian political prisoner for more than a decade.”
The government had alleged that Ulbricht founded Silk Road in 2011, allowing users to anonymously trade drugs and other illegal goods and services in near-total secrecy using bitcoin. According to the indictment, Silk Road acquired nearly a million registered users worldwide, with about 30% based in the US.
