During his first full day as the President of the United States, Donald Trump fulfilled a campaign promise he made to libertarians, issuing a pardon for Ross Ulbricht, 40, who is the creator and main operator behind Silk Road, a darknet site. Ulbricht was handed a double life sentence back in 2015 after being convicted of “distributing narcotics, distributing narcotics by means of the Internet, conspiring to distribute narcotics, engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, conspiring to commit computer hacking, conspiring to traffic in false identity documents, and conspiring to commit money laundering.”
A report from The Daily Wire says that libertarians began to champion Ulbricht’s cause, making the case that he was only facilitating “peaceful online transactions among consenting adults” and was simply being made an example of by the U.S. government which is still struggling to understand the online space. Something worth noting is that Ulbricht was given two life sentences with a sprinkle of 40 years without a chance of parole on top, by a federal court in Manhattan.
ROSS IS FREE
Ross Ulbricht, founder of Silk Road, the largest libertarian marketplace in history—was sentenced to life in prison in 2015.
After spending 11 years behind bars, President Trump has granted him a presidential pardon, finally giving Ross back his freedom. pic.twitter.com/noU93nBrku
— Students For Liberty (@sfliberty) January 22, 2025
“I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbricht 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 shared in a post on Truth Social late Tuesday night. “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 president continued. “He was given two life sentences, plus 40 years. Ridiculous!”
Back in May, Trump attended the Libertarian Party convention — the only nominee to do so — and was loudly booed by some attendees. Still, while attending the convention, Trump promised to free Ulbricht, a promise he fulfilled on his first full day in office.
Trump went to the Libertarian Party convention last year – filled with "FREE ROSS" [Ulbricht] signs – and promised to pardon Ross, as part of Trump asking for the party's endorsement.
In exchange, he was booed, and they declined to endorse him.
Trump went on to pardon Ross,… https://t.co/RlFbP4H3HF pic.twitter.com/wpTMmaTBzM
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 22, 2025
“Thank you for honoring your pledge to Ross, to our members, and to libertarians everywhere, [Donald Trump],” the Libertarian Party’s X account stated in a post online.
Thank you for honoring your pledge to Ross, to our members, and to libertarians everywhere, @realDonaldTrump. pic.twitter.com/9YtQNrOhW9
— Libertarian Party (@LPNational) January 22, 2025
Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie also heaped praise on the freshly inaugurated president for keeping his promise.
“Ross Ulbricht has been freed by President Trump with a full pardon!” he said in a post on X. “Thank you for keeping your word to me and others who have been advocating for Ross’ freedom, Mr. President!”
Ross Ulbricht has been freed by President Trump with a full pardon! Thank you for keeping your word to me and others who have been advocating for Ross’ freedom, Mr. President! #freeRoss pic.twitter.com/wOJVFX1DaA
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) January 22, 2025
There’s a lot of corruption in our legal system. One of the promises that Trump made while on the campaign trail was that he was going to purge and cleanse the Justice Department of deep state actors in order to restore law and order, to ensure that there are no more victims of lawfare in this country. Given how many of his promises he’s already kept, I’d say it’s going to happen.
With his leadership, there might be a time in the future when our courts are fair and balanced and we can take pride in the justice system.
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