Trump pardons Silk Road online black market founder sentenced to life

On January 21, US President Donald Trump announced that he granted a pardon to Ross William Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road dark web marketplace.

“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, Caliber.Az reports, citing American media.

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: "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. He was given two life sentences, plus 40 years. Ridiculous!"

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.

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.

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. “If you vote for me, on Day 1 I will commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht to a sentence of time served,” Trump said at the time. “He’s already served 11 years. We’re going to get him home.”

Libertarian National Committee Chair Angela McArdle celebrated the announcement on January 21, calling Ulbricht “a libertarian political prisoner for more than a decade.”

“I’m proud to say that saving his life has been one of our top priorities and that has finally paid off,” McArdle said in a statement that also thanked Trump for following through on his vow.

The government had alleged that Ulbricht, who donned the pseudonym “Dread Pirate Roberts,” a nod to the fictitious character in the film “The Princess Bride,” founded the site in 2011. The now-defunct marketplace allowed 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, about 30% of whom were based in the US.

By Khagan Isayev