Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the now-defunct darknet drug market previously known as Silk Road, thanked President Donald Trump for setting him free and hinted at what he has planned for his future in a video posted on social media.
Ulbricht, who was known online by his darknet moniker, “Dread Pirate Roberts,” was arrested in 2013 for his part in developing an online marketplace that connected people selling drugs and committing other illegal acts like money laundering.
It is considered the first modern version of darknet illegal marketplaces, which, over the years, have become more prevalent. Ulbricht was sentenced to life without parole.
Ulbricht’s laptop, from which he did much of the site’s maintenance and creation, is held as an artifact by the FBI alongside other items such as Ted Kaczynski’s cabin, D.B. Cooper’s plane ticket and pieces of the World Trade Center.
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Supporters of Ross Ulbricht, the alleged creator and operator of the Silk Road underground market, stand in front of a Manhattan federal courthouse on the first day of jury selection for his trial Jan. 13, 2015, in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Ulbricht said in a video on X thanking Trump for his pardon that he was looking forward to “re-engaging with the free world” in the near future. Ulbricht added that the action was a “victory” for everyone “who loves freedom and who cares about second chances.”
“It feels amazing to be free, to say the least. It’s overwhelming,” Ulbricht posted on his X account, which he has regularly posted on from jail during the 11 years he was incarcerated. “For the next however long we need, I’m going to be with my family so that we can reunite, and be whole again, and heal. But there’s a lot to talk about, and I look forward to re-engaging the free world. So, once I’m feeling up to it, we’ll talk again.
Lyn Ulbricht, mother of Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht, speaks to the media outside federal court in New York in 2015 after the sentencing of her son. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Let it be known that Donald Trump is a man of his word,” Ulbricht added during the roughly two-minute video. “Thank you so much President Trump for giving me this amazing blessing.”
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Ulbricht’s family campaigned for years to get him some form of release and also shared a statement following the pardon from Trump on the website FreeRoss.org.
“Our immense gratitude to President Trump for giving Ross a second chance and to all those who have supported us throughout the years. From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU!!!” it said.
Members of the Libertarian Party stand on chairs while chanting and demanding the release of Ross Ulbricht during the party’s national convention at the Washington Hilton May 25, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Trump said he called Ulbricht’s mother shortly after being sworn in to fulfill his campaign promise of releasing Ulbricht, who many believe was given an unfairly harsh sentence for setting up Silk Road.
“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 said on Truth Social earlier this week 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!”
