Trump ignites controversy with pardon of silk road founder
Donald Trump has made yet another controversial decision. The former American president has pardoned Ross Ulbricht, who was sentenced to life imprisonment ten years ago. Ulbricht is responsible, among other things, for creating the "Silk Road" service on the dark web, which facilitated drug trafficking on a massive scale.
The "Silk Road" service was shut down in 2013. At the time, the FBI described it as "the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the internet". Ulbricht was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2015.
On Tuesday, Trump stated on the Truth Social platform that he had spoken with Ross Ulbricht's mother on his first full day in office and expressed that it was a pleasure to grant her son, Ross, a full and unconditional pardon.
He claimed that those responsible for Ulbricht's conviction were the same individuals involved in what he described as the government's efforts to target him, dismissing Ulbricht's conviction as ridiculous.
Trump had already promised to pardon Ulbricht during his campaign at the Libertarian Party National Convention, which opposes drug punishment policies. They believe investigators overstepped their authority in the "Silk Road" case.
Trump surprises by freeing a dangerous criminal
"Silk Road" was founded by Ulbricht in 2011 on the dark web, a part of the internet inaccessible to traditional search engines. The service did not accept cash or credit cards; users had to pay with cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin. All transactions were encrypted, making them untraceable.
The platform became a place where people could buy and sell illegal drugs, as well as weapons and computer hacking services.
"We saw murder-for-hire postings, hacking-for-hire postings, which was, 'hey, pay me two bitcoin and I'll hack into your ex-wife or ex-husband's email account,'" reported former FBI special agent Milan Patel in an interview with the CBS News series.
He added, "It was totally anonymous. And you could never trace it back to the person who asked for it."
Ulbricht ran the site until his arrest in 2013 when the FBI seized it. During the trial, prosecutors stated that at least six deaths were linked to drug overdoses from purchases on the "Silk Road."
They claimed Ulbricht earned about £14 million from commissions on drug sales and provided evidence that he attempted to order the murders of individuals threatening his business.
Since taking office, Trump has pardoned approximately 1,500 people convicted in connection with the Capitol riots on 6 January 2021.
