Tuesday night, President Donald Trump pardon issued Ross Ulbricht, who ran the dark web marketplace Silk Road under the pseudonym “Dread Pirate Roberts”. Ulbricht has been serving a life sentence without parole since 2015, when he was convicted on multiple charges. drug distribution,
The Silk Road marketplace, which was only accessible through the Tor network, became one of the most prevalent early commercial uses of Bitcoin. Buyers and sellers traded illegal drugs, fake passports and more.
In the intervening years, Ulbricht became a celebrity for a certain segment of the right wing, especially among the crypto crowd. hugged Trump last yearTo his supporters, Ulbricht's life sentence is unusually punitive. Much lenient sentences have been given for similar crimes – for example, Blake BenthallThe man who operated Silk Road 2.0 was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment and three years' probation. Ulbricht's lieutenant, thomas clarkeAlso known as “Variety Jones”, was sentenced last year to 20 years in prison.
Although the criminal offenses were non-violent in nature, the judge sentencing Ulbricht took into account the numerous deaths caused by drugs purchased through Silk Road.
Throughout his trial, Ulbricht denied that he had committed the crimes in question. Because law enforcement arrested him with his laptop open, they had access to all of his files, including the website's code, private messages between him and Silk Road employees, and a Diary Whose entries matched OkCupid messages associated with Ross Ulbricht's real identity.