Trump Frees Silk Road Creator Ross Ulbricht After 11 Years in Prison
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Summary
Ross Ulbricht, founder of the dark web marketplace Silk Road, has had his life sentence commuted by outgoing US President Donald Trump.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that he had granted Ulbricht a “full and unconditional pardon” and blamed “lunatics” in the government for Ulbricht’s original conviction.
Ulbricht was arrested in 2013 and charged with several offences, including conspiracy to commit drug trafficking and money laundering, as well as a “kingpin” charge more usually reserved for mafia members.
He was ultimately sentenced to two life sentences, plus 40 years, in 2015.
Since then, supporters have pressued for his release, arguing that his crimes were non-violent and that he had allowed only “victimless crimes” on the Silk Road marketplace.
However, allegations that Ulbricht had paid for several people to be murdered shadowed his case.
It is not known if Ulbricht’s release will raise fresh questions about the activities of the Silk Road.