After 11 years behind bars, Ross Ulbricht is a free man.
A photo shows him smiling as he walks out of prison in the dead of night — clad in a sweatsuit, carrying a small plant, and lugging possessions over his shoulder in a mesh bag.
The founder of the Silk Road darknet marketplace has received a full and unconditional pardon from Donald Trump — following through on a pledge made while running for office.
His release is the culmination of a tireless campaign by libertarian sympathisers, who argued that his punishment of two life sentences — plus an additional 40 years without any chance of parole — was excessive.
They insisted that it was disproportionate for a first-time, non-violent offender to be condemned to die behind bars, and described Ulbricht as a bright entrepreneur “passionate about free markets and privacy.”
‘Silk Road is Going to Become a Phenomenon’
He was 26 years old when Silk Road first launched in a part of the internet concealed from search engines. The marketplace’s name was inspired by a legendary network of trade routes that connected Europe and Asia. Ulbricht chose the moniker “Dread Pirate Roberts” — a character from The Princess Bride who had libertarian sympathies.
An early adopter of Bitcoin, he wrote in his journal of an ambition to “create a website where people could buy anything anonymously, with no trail whatsoever that could lead back to them.” This was driven by Ulbricht’s belief that drug use shouldn’t be criminalized.
He described producing “several kilos of high-quality shrooms” so Silk Road would have a product to offer. And soon after launch in 2011, its network of vendors and customers grew and grew. Ulbricht wrote:
“I am creating a year of prosperity and power beyond what I have ever experienced before. Silk Road is going to become a phenomenon.”
About six months later, a Gawker article saw the darknet marketplace attract critics and admirers in equal measure. The publicity saw sign-ups surge, politicians called for the site to be shut down, and law enforcement agencies began to pay close attention to the operation. Ulbricht’s journal revealed he felt exposed, writing:
“I started to get into a bad state of mind. I was mentally taxed, and now I felt extremely vulnerable and scared. The US govt, my main enemy, was aware of me and some of its members were calling for my destruction.”
Nonetheless, he began to start bringing in “hired guns” to “take the site to the next level” — all while maintaining a strict code of conduct that meant stolen goods or child abuse images could not change hands.
But as Silk Road grew, so too did headaches for Ulbricht. One of his employees ended up being arrested — fueling fears that he could end up giving compromising information to detectives. He allegedly tried to arrange for this person to be executed, but hired a hitman who turned out to be an undercover officer.
Months of investigation led to a significant day — October 1, 2013 — when Ulbricht was working in a library in San Francisco. Two federal agents pretended to have a lovers’ tiff nearby, distracting the entrepreneur enough so his laptop could be seized while he was logged into Silk Road’s backend. As he was arrested, a digital forensics expert downloaded a treasure trove of files on the device.
Throughout the trial, Ulbricht’s lawyers had insisted that — while he did create Silk Road — he was no longer involved in the website’s operation, and “Dread Pirate Roberts” was someone else. But the jury rejected their argument that he was a “fall guy,” and he was convicted of seven counts that included narcotics trafficking and money laundering.
The Free Ross campaign also argued that his sentence was unfair as it amounted to him being held responsible for what others had decided to sell through the site he had created.
‘Miracles Do Happen’
With appeals against his sentence denied, Ulbricht seemed destined to see out the rest of his days in jail.
But he continued to maintain constant contact with the outside world through tweets that were posted on his behalf.
The posts were a blend of optimistic messages, and honest updates about the challenges of prison life.
“A year (or decade) of a life sentence is not the same as a year (or decade) of a finite sentence. It’s more like being on death row, with old age as the executioner.”
Ulbricht quipped about how inmates and guards had started to refer to him as “Crypto Jesus” — but also shared tales of remorse, and revealed how he was trying to be of service to other inmates. As his 10th year in prison began in 2022, he wrote:
“I don’t know what to say. I screwed up. I ruined my life and caused a lot of pain. When I look back and see my many mistakes, I feel immense regret.”
In the meantime, a Change.org petition calling for Ulbricht to be shown clemency was gaining momentum — and ended up attracting more than 600,000 signatures. His family argued that those who actually sold drugs through Silk Road were sentenced to an average of just six years, and stressed he would not be “a danger to anyone” if freed.
“If released tomorrow, he would never come near to breaking the law again.”
That day has now come. On Truth Social, President Trump described the sentence that Ulbricht received as “ridiculous,” adding:
“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.”
Bitcoiners see this as a moment of vindication — pointing to Ulbricht as someone who encapsulated this cryptocurrency’s values more than anyone. The Libertarian Party has also expressed its gratitude, likening him to a “political prisoner.”
But make no mistake, this isn’t a pardon that will be universally popular, with some accusing Ulbricht of exacerbating America’s drug crisis, emboldening cartels, and fueling addictions that have destroyed lives and communities.
The post Who is Ross Ulbricht? The Silk Road Founder Pardoned By Trump appeared first on Cryptonews.
