Trump pardons Ross Ulbricht after calling for the death penalty for drug dealers

On By Littum

In a move that has sparked debate, President Donald Trump granted a full pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the Silk Road dark web marketplace, who had served two life sentences plus 40 years for enabling the illegal trade in drugs and other illegal goods. People using his site traded in bitcoin to avoid detection.

Why it matters

The pardon represents a marked departure from Trump’s previous rhetoric on drug crimes. As recently as 2018, Trump endorsed the death penalty for drug dealers, stating, “If we don’t get tough on the drug dealers, we’re wasting our time.”

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Family photo of Kirk and Lyn Ulbricht with their son Ross, 18, after his graduation from Westlake High School in Austin, Texas.

ULBRICHT FAMILY

What to know

The decision fulfills a promise Trump made to Libertarian supporters during his campaign, but appears to contradict Trump’s earlier advocacy of the death penalty for drug dealers.

Ulbricht, known by the pseudonym “Dread Pirate Roberts,” ran Silk Road between 2011 and 2013, facilitating more than $200 million in transactions for illegal drugs, hacking services and forged documents. He was arrested in 2013 and convicted in 2015 of several charges, including conspiracy to distribute narcotics and money laundering. His website relied on the anonymity of the Tor network and the burgeoning cryptocurrency market to allow massive drug dealing.

In November 2022, while announcing his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election, Trump called for the execution of drug traffickers.

From his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, he said that drug traffickers were being executed in China, Singapore and other countries, and that was the only option to tackle the drug problem in the United States

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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, DC.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

What people say

In announcing a pardon, President Trump attacked those who had imprisoned Ulbricht.

“The scum working to convict him were some of the same lunatics involved in the modern weaponization of the government against me,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday. “He got two life sentences, plus 40 years. Ridiculous!”

Ulbricht’s lawyer, Brandon Sample, welcomed Trump’s announcement.

“After enduring more than a decade of incarceration, this decision gives Ross the opportunity to start over, rebuild his life and contribute positively to society,” Sample said in a statement.

What happens next

A photo posted to a Twitter account dedicated to his release shows Ulbricht being released from prison late Tuesday with a plant in one hand and his bag in the other. His future is uncertain, but he will likely seek work in the technology field.

Trump is expected to issue other pardons in the coming days.