As Promised, Trump Frees Silk Road Creator Ross Ulbricht

US President Donald Trump has granted a full and unconditional pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the dark web marketplace Silk Road .

Ulbricht was convicted in 2015 on charges of narcotics and money laundering conspiracy and had been serving a double life sentence in prison.

"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 announced on Truth Social just days after his inauguration.

"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!"

In the lead-up to the election Trump pledged his support for UIbricht, stating in October that he would "save Ross Ulbricht." This wasn't the first time Trump has vowed to help Ulbricht. Speaking at the  Libertarian National Convention in May, Trump told the audience, "If you vote for me, on Day One, I will commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht."

Ulbricht was convicted for illegal activities tied to Silk Road, which used Bitcoin for transactions to maintain anonymity, including:

• Conspiracy to commit money laundering
• Conspiracy to commit computer hacking
• Conspiracy to traffic narcotics (which carried the harshest penalties)
• Operating a criminal enterprise

The United States has since been pursuing the seizure of over $1 billion worth of Bitcoin that was stolen from Silk Road, which operated from 2011 until it was shut down in 2013.

Court documents revealed that nearly a million users were registered on the platform, though the exact number of active participants remained unknown.