Trump ignites controversy with Ross Ulbricht's pardon
Donald Trump made another controversial decision. The new American president pardoned Ross Ulbricht, who was sentenced to life imprisonment a decade ago. He is responsible, among other things, for creating the "Silk Road" service on the dark web, which facilitated drug trafficking on a massive scale.
The "Silk Road" service was shut down in 2013. At the time, the FBI called it "the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the internet". Ulbricht was sentenced to life in 2015.
On Tuesday, Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform that he spoke with 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," he added, calling Ulbricht's conviction "ridiculous."
Trump had already promised Ulbricht's pardon during his campaign at the Libertarian Party National Convention, which opposes drug punishment policies. They believe investigators overstepped their authority in the "Silk Road" case.
Trump surprises by freeing a dangerous criminal
Ulbricht founded Silk Road in 2011 on the dark web, a part of the internet inaccessible to traditional search engines. The service did not accept cash or credit cards; users had to pay with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. All transactions were encrypted, making them untraceable.
The platform became a place where people could buy and sell illegal drugs, as well as weapons and computer hacking services.
— We saw murder-for-hire postings, hacking-for-hire postings, which was, 'hey, pay me two bitcoin and I'll hack into your ex-wife or ex-husband's email account" — reported former FBI special agent Milan Patel in an interview with CBS News series.
He added, "It was totally anonymous. And you could never trace it back to the person who asked for it."
Ulbricht ran the site until his arrest in 2013 when the FBI seized it. During the trial, prosecutors stated that at least six deaths were linked to drug overdoses from purchases on the "Silk Road."
They claimed Ulbricht earned about $24 million CAD from commissions on drug sales and provided evidence that he attempted to order the murders of individuals threatening his business.
Since taking office, Trump has pardoned approximately 1,500 people convicted in connection with the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021.
