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These allegations actually dissuaded the first Trump administration from pardoning Ulbricht: In 2020, the White House considered releasing Ulbricht, but ultimately rejected the idea because of the alleged role of violence in the case. A government official involved in the process spoke to WIRED on condition of anonymity.
But since then, the Trump administration has changed its stance on Ulbricht’s case — perhaps because it embraced the libertarian cryptocurrency community that Ulbricht martyred and made famous. At the Libertarian National Convention in Washington last May, then-presidential candidate Trump He promised to commute Ulbricht’s sentence “on day one” if re-elected. (After all, the first day passed without mercy for Ulbricht Trump has pardoned more than a thousand participants In a riot at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, although Trump ally Elon Musk made a promise Send to X (Ross will also be released on Monday evening.)
It is unclear what role Ulbricht will play in the free world. Even in his testimony to a judge in 2015, Ulbricht never fully acknowledged the damage caused by the Silk Road drug trade, and he still expressed no remorse for his actions in his public posts to former Countryman X, Jared Der-Yeghiayan. A Security Investigations agent who secretly infiltrated Silk Road as part of the case against Ulbricht said. WIREED in November
“I’m not at all worried about him being released,” said Der-Yeghiayan, who currently works as head of strategic intelligence at cryptocurrency prospecting firm Chainalysis. “Now if there’s an idea that he didn’t do anything wrong, that doesn’t accept the facts of the case, I’m concerned.”
Among some advocates of criminal justice reform, Ulbricht has become an example of excessive punishment, especially given that he was technically charged with non-violent crimes. “Ross has served more than enough time. He was a model prisoner. He is a first-time, non-violent offender. He poses zero safety risk to society,” Justice Reform Foundation CEO Alice Johnson told WIRED in November. Johnson himself served two decades in prison for drug trafficking before his life sentence was commuted by Trump in 2018. “I believe Ross his work will pave the way for many others who have been unjustly subjected to these cruel punishments to return home.”
On Tuesday night, Ulbricht’s supporters celebrated her release and thanked Trump for his clemency. “Words cannot express how grateful we are,” tweeted @Free_Ross of the X account dedicated to more than a decade of efforts on Ulbricht’s behalf. “President Trump is a man of his word, and he saved Ross’s life. ROSS IS A FREE MAN!!!!!”
Additional report Joel Khalili
