Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Murder-for-hire allegations, in fact, first dissuaded the Trump administration from pardoning Ulbricht. The White House considered freeing Ulbricht in 2020 but ultimately rejected the idea because of allegations of violence in the case, according to a former government official involved in the process who spoke to WIRED on condition of anonymity.
Since then, however, the Trump administration has changed its stance on Ulbricht — in part, perhaps, because of its embrace of the libertarian cryptocurrency community, for which Ulbricht has become a martyr and celebrity. Then-presidential candidate Trump at the Libertarian National Convention in Washington DC last May Ulbricht’s sentence has been commuted “On the first day” if re-elected. (After all, the first day passed with no apologies for Ulbricht, even Trump has pardoned more than 1,000 participants On January 6, 2021, riots at the US Capitol, despite promises by Trump ally Elon Musk. Post to X Monday evening that “Ross will also be released.”)
It is unclear what role Ulbricht will play in the free world. Even in his statement to the judge at his sentencing hearing in 2015, Ulbricht did not fully admit to being harmed by Silk Road drug sales. And according to former Homeland Security Investigations agent Jared Der-Yeghian, who infiltrated Silk Road during the investigation, Ulbricht still shows little remorse for his actions in his public posts to X.
“The idea of him being released doesn’t bother me at all,” said Der-Yeghian, who now serves as head of strategic intelligence at cryptocurrency tracing firm Chainanalysis. “I am upset if there is now a perception that he has done nothing wrong; which does not admit the truth of the case.”
Among some advocates of criminal justice reform, however, Ulbricht has become an example of oversentencing because he was technically charged with a nonviolent crime. “The juice served more than enough time. He is a model prisoner. He is a first-time, non-violent offender. He poses zero safety risk to the community,” Alice Johnson, CEO of the justice reform foundation Taking Action for Good, told Wired in November. Johnson spent two decades in prison for attempted possession with intent to distribute, before Trump commuted his life sentence in 2018 and pardoned him in 2020. “I believe that Ross’s case is going to pave the way for many others who have been unfairly served. A harsh sentence for coming home.
On Tuesday night, Ulbricht’s supporters celebrated his freedom and expressed gratitude to Trump for his pardon. “Words cannot express how grateful we are,” read a tweet from @Free_Ross, an X account dedicated to Ulbricht’s more than decade-long efforts. “President Trump is a man of his word and he just saved Ross’s life. Ross is a free man!!!!!”
Additional reporting by Joel Khalili
