Trump announced Tuesday that he granted a full and unconditional pardon to Ross William Ulbricht, the founder of the notorious Silk Road dark web marketplace. Ulbricht had been serving a life sentence after being convicted on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit computer hacking, conspiracy to traffic narcotics, and engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise (commonly known as the “kingpin charge”). However, controversy surrounded his case—not only due to the severity of his sentence but also because of allegations of involvement in murder-for-hire schemes for which he was never charged.
Ulbricht, who created the Silk Road in 2011, ran the site as an anonymous online marketplace where users could buy and sell illegal goods, including drugs, counterfeit documents, and hacking services, using cryptocurrency for transactions. At its peak, the Silk Road facilitated billions of dollars in deals, attracting global attention and leading to Ulbricht’s 2013 arrest. While the Justice Department labeled the platform “the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the Internet,” supporters have long argued that Ulbricht’s sentence was excessive.
Though prosecutors presented evidence during the trial that Ulbricht had solicited the murder of individuals threatening his platform, including an alleged plot to kill a former Silk Road employee turned informant, he was never formally charged with murder-for-hire. The government maintained that it uncovered messages and logs indicating Ulbricht paid a hitman—who turned out to be an undercover agent—to carry out the killings. However, no physical violence resulted from these alleged plans, and the murder-for-hire claims were left out of his formal indictment. Critics argue that these allegations, while unproven in court, still played a role in justifying the life sentence handed down by the judge.
Trump, in his announcement on Truth Social, criticized the handling of the case, calling Ulbricht’s life sentence “ridiculous” and accusing the legal system of overreach. “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 wrote.
“This is a young man who was given an unjust sentence for something that should never have resulted in life behind bars,” Trump continued. He also expressed anger at the investigators and prosecutors, labeling them as part of the broader issue of government “weaponization” he frequently speaks out against.
The Silk Road case was a groundbreaking legal battle and one of the earliest examples of law enforcement cracking down on dark web marketplaces. But Ulbricht’s supporters, including prominent Libertarians, have consistently argued that his punishment was disproportionate to his crimes. They also point to alleged misconduct during the investigation, including corruption among federal agents involved in the case.
