Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he had granted a “full and unconditional” pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the illegal online drug marketplace the Silk Road.
Ulbricht has been incarcerated since 2013 and was sentenced to life in prison in 2015. Trump said he had called Ulbricht’s mother to tell her he would pardon her son “in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly”.
“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,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
The Silk Road was once the largest “dark web” marketplace for illegal drugs and other services. Prosecutors said the website had generated nearly $213.9m (£140m) in sales and $13.2m in commissions before police shut it down.
More details soon …
