President Donald Trump signed a full and unconditional pardon on Tuesday to Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the anonymous marketplace website Silk Road, which the president promised to do “on Day 1” while he was on the campaign trail.
“I just called Ross William Ulbri(c)ht’s mother 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 issued a full and unconditional pardon for her son to have signed. , Ross,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Tuesday. “The scum who worked to convict him were the same lunatics involved in today’s weaponization of the government against me. He received two life sentences, plus 40 years. Ridiculous!’
Ulbricht was convicted because his website, which was founded in 2011 and used cryptocurrency for payments, was used to sell illegal drugs, even though he did not sell any of the illegal substances himself.
In May, Trump gave a speech at Congress Libertarian National Convention to a hostile crowd of boos in an attempt to win over libertarian voters. Libertarians believe that government investigators have gone too far in their case against the Silk Road and are generally against the war on drugs.
TRUMP CANNOT DELIVER ‘DAY 1’ PROMISE TO GRANT CLEMENCY TO ROSS ULBRICHT, FOUNDER OF ZIJDEROAD
People hold signs in support of jailed founder of the Silk Road darknet market, Ross Ulbricht, as former President Trump attends the Libertarian Party national convention in Washington, DC, May 25, 2024. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
Although attendees did not view Trump favorably for most of the event, they did cheer loudly when he said he would commute Ulbricht’s sentence to time served, while the crowd chanted “Free Ross” in hopes that the presidential candidate would take action would undertake if elected. to allow the founder of Silk Road to return home to his family after more than ten years behind bars.
“If you vote for me, I will commute Ross Ulbricht’s sentence to time served on Day 1. He has already served eleven years. We’re going to bring him home,” Trump told the crowd of libertarians, many of them. who held signs that read “Free Ross.”
Ulbricht responded to Trump’s comments on the social media platform X the next day.
TRUMP GIVEN ALMOST ALL 1/6 CLAIMS
Members of the Libertarian Party stand in chairs as they chant and demand the release of Ross Ulbricht during the party’s national convention at the Washington Hilton on May 25, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)
“Last night, Donald Trump promised to commute my sentence on Day 1 if re-elected,” he wrote. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. After eleven years in prison, it is difficult to express how I feel right now. It is thanks to your undying support that I am given a second chance.”
Last month, Ulbricht wrote, “For my final monthly resolution of 2024, I plan to study every day and stay informed as much as possible as I prepare for freedom.”
Trump later reiterated his pledge to commute Ulbricht’s life sentence at a bitcoin conference, receiving loud cheers.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
While Trump reneged on his promise to free Ulbricht on his first day back in office, he did so on his second.
Ulbricht, now 40, ran the website from 2011 until his arrest in 2013. He was convicted two years later to life in prison.
Landon Mion of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
