US President Donald Trump pardoned the founder of the infamous dark web market Silk Road, Ross Ulbricht on Tuesday (Jan 21).

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Ulbricht, who was incarcerated since 2013, was sentenced to life in prison in New York in 2015 on money laundering and narcotics charges. He was operating the underground drug market where drug dealers and others were engaged in the illegal trade of over $200 million using Bitcoin.

Trump announced his pardon on his Truth Social platform saying that he called Ulbricht's mother to inform her about it.

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The president posted: “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.”

He added, “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. He was given two life sentences, plus 40 years. Ridiculous!”

Elon Musk also responded to Trump's post saying he was "honored to be in the Oval Office tonight when POTUS signed this.”

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Who is Ross Ulbricht and what was he accused of?

Born on March 27, 1984, in Austin, Texas, Ross William Ulbricht, was a Boy Scout and attained the Eagle Scout rank. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Texas at Dallas on a full academic scholarship. He also received a scholarship to attend Pennsylvania State University, where he was enrolled in a master's degree programme in materials science and engineering.

Ulbricht developed a strong interest in libertarian economic theory and was influenced by Ludwig von Mises and agorism philosophy that advocates free-market principles.

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He launched the Silk Road in 2011, an online shopping mall, which allowed nearly 4,000 drug dealers to sell drugs on a massive scale to over 100,000 buyers in the US and international markets.

He ran the dark web platform until his arrest by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2013, during which he collected $18 million in Bitcoins through commissions on a website containing thousands of listings under categories like “Cannabis”, “Psychedelics” and “Stimulants”, according to the Guardian. According to authorities, Ulbricht brokered over a million drug deals worth more than $183 million. Some people died due to the drugs bought on Silk Road, said prosecutors.

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According to the court papers, the government said that Ulbricht left a blueprint that others followed to create sophisticated “dark markets” that cannot be traced easily, selling an even wider range of illicit items than available on the Silk Road.

In February 2015, he was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of distributing drugs over the internet and conspiring to commit computer hacking and money laundering.

Ulbricht’s pardon was praised by the Libertarian party, which supports the legalisation of drugs, and cryptocurrency advocates.

Trump earlier announced his plans to commute Ulbricht’s sentence during a speech at the Libertarian National Convention in May 2024, which he fulfilled after assuming office.

(With inputs from agencies)