In a shock decision sparking international outrage, US President Donald Trump has granted a full pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the mastermind behind the notorious Silk Road website – an online black market infamous for facilitating drug deals with cryptocurrency.
Ulbricht, now 40, was arrested in 2013 and later sentenced to two life terms plus 40 years for his role in creating what FBI prosecutors described as ‘the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the internet.’
Trump posted on Truth Social, his social media website, that he had spoken to Ulbricht’s mother on his first full day in office.
‘It was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross,’ he wrote. ‘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.’
The cyber criminal launched the Silk Road site in January 2011, running it until late September 2013, when he was captured.
During Silk Road’s early days, Ulbricht was living in Sydney, Australia, spending around six months in a Bondi Beach house share where he began secretly building his dark web empire.
A friend from Sydney, who shared the Bondi flat with Ulbricht during his time there, was stunned to learn of his double life.
‘I’m absolutely gobsmacked,’ the friend said. ‘He’s the nicest guy. He told us he was a programmer working on freelance projects. You could do it all from a laptop, so we never suspected a thing. I’m totally spun out.’
Ross Ulbricht (pictured right), 40, was arrested in 2013 because the dark website he founded facilitated the sale of illicit drugs using cryptocurrency
According to documents filed in the Southern District Court of New York, Ulbricht established the site in January 2011 and was running it up to late September 2013
While Ulbricht’s clemency was not one of the many tasks Trump completed on Monday, he revealed on Tuesday evening that Ulbricht had been granted a ‘full and unconditional pardon’
Bondi Beach, known for its laid-back lifestyle and vibrant tourist scene, seems an unlikely setting for one of the world’s most notorious cybercriminals.
Yet it was from here that Ulbricht began laying the groundwork for a platform that would grow into a global hub for drug trafficking, hacking tools, and other illegal services.
Ulbricht was convicted in early 2015 on charges of drug trafficking, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and computer hacking.
Operating under the pseudonym Dread Pirate Roberts, he profited from facilitating the sale of illicit goods on the dark web.
Prosecutors also linked him to the deaths of at least six people who overdosed on drugs purchased through Silk Road.
At his sentencing, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: ‘Make no mistake: Ulbricht was a drug dealer and criminal profiteer who exploited people’s addictions and contributed to deaths.’
Despite these grave charges, Trump’s decision to pardon Ulbricht has been met with praise from some libertarian groups, who argue the punishment was disproportionate and highlight his supporters’ claim that he never directly handled drugs.
However, critics have slammed the pardon as reckless, given the harm caused by Silk Road’s operations.
On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to commute Ulbricht’s sentence ‘on day one’ if he were re-elected, and garnered enormous support from the convicted criminal’s loved ones and fans.
The President revealed on Tuesday evening that Ulbricht had been granted a ‘full and unconditional pardon.’
‘I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbright (sic) 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 revealed on TruthSocial.
In early 2015 he was sentenced to two life terms in prison plus 40 years for drug trafficking, conspiracy to commit money laundering and computer hacking, operating under the pseudonym ‘Dread Pirate Roberts.’
Trump vowed at a rally with Libertarians in May that he would commute Ulbricht’s sentence, sparking cheers from an otherwise distrusting crowd
Ulbricht shared an update on X the following day revealing he was aware of, and embolded by, the commitment
Members of the Libertarian Party stand in chairs while chanting and demanding the release of Ross Ulbricht
‘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!’
Prosecutors had described Silk Road as an unprecedented one-stop online shopping mall where the supply of drugs was virtually limitless.
Earlier on Tuesday, Ulbricht’s clemency lawyer said he maintained hope Trump would deliver on his promise to commute the sentence.
‘We do expect President Trump to grant clemency. The president, when a candidate, said that he would release Ross on his first day in office,’ he said.
‘We have no doubt the president will follow through on his commitment to release Ross. Ross, his family, and all his supporters are forever grateful to President Trump for his willingness to show mercy to Ross.’
Senator Rand Paul had earlier sent a letter to Trump noting that Ulbricht’s sentence was ‘vastly disproportionate to his crimes’, adding ‘the worst drug sellers on the site received significantly more lenient sentences’.
Trump vowed at a rally with libertarians in May that he would commute Ulbricht’s sentence, sparking cheers from an otherwise distrusting crowd.
Ulbricht shared an update on X the following day revealing he was aware of, and emboldened by, the commitment.
‘Last night, Donald Trump pledged to commute my sentence on day 1, if reelected,’ he wrote.
‘Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. After 11 years in prison, it is hard to express how I feel at this moment. It is thanks to your undying support that I may get a second chance.’
Ulbricht partially developed Silk Road while living at Bondi in Sydney, Australia (pictured)
Ulbricht had previously maintained that he did not intend for his website to morph into what it ultimately became.
He never sold illicit substances himself, despite being convicted of drug trafficking.
‘I was trying to help us move toward a freer and more equitable world,’ Ulbricht said from prison in 2021.
‘We all know the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and now here I am. I’m in hell.’
