Fulfilling his campaign promise, President Donald Trump granted Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the illegal drug marketplace Silk Road, a full pardon on Tuesday.
Through a post on his Truth Social account, Trump said he signed an executive order granting a “full and unconditional” pardon to Ulbricht, who was serving a double life sentence since 2013 for creating the darknet website.
“I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbright 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’s post read.
The president slammed those involved in Ulbricht’s conviction, referring to them as “scum” and “lunatics.” Trump said the same group of people weaponized the government machinery against him.
Trump’s pardon follows his campaign promise to commute Ulbricht’s sentence at the Libertarian National Convention last year. The vow was seen as a bid to court Libertarian voters, who have long lobbied for his release.
The Silk Road website was established in 2011 and was subsequently shut down by the FBI in 2013, following Ulbricht’s arrest. The site was a hub of the illegal trafficking of heroin, cocaine, LSD, and other substances, all paid for in Bitcoin BTC/USD. It is estimated that the platform facilitated $1 billion worth of illicit transactions in the apex cryptocurrency.
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