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US President Donald Trump says he has signed a full and unconditional pardon for Ross Ulbricht, who ran Silk Road, a dark web marketplace where illegal drugs were sold.
Ulbricht was convicted of narcotics and money laundering conspiracy in New York in 2015 and sentenced to life in prison.
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he called Ulbricht’s mother to let her know he had forgiven her son.
Silk Road, which was shut down in 2013 after police arrested Ulbricht, sold illegal drugs using Bitcoin, as well as hacking equipment and stolen passports.
“Those who worked to convict him were the same lunatics who participated in the modern government weaponization against me,” Trump said in an online post Tuesday afternoon. “He was sentenced to two life terms, plus 40 years. Ridiculous!”
Ulbricht was found guilty of, among other things, conspiracy to commit drug trafficking, money laundering and computer hacking.
At his trial, prosecutors said Ulbricht’s website, hosted on the hidden “dark web”, sold more than $200m (£131m) worth of drugs anonymously.
He ran Silk Road under the alias Dread Pirate Roberts, a reference to a character in the 1987 film The Princess Bride.
Prosecutors said he also sought six murders-for-hire, including one against a former Silk Road employee, although they said no murders were actually carried out.
The Silk Road took its name from the historical trade routes that covered parts of Europe, Asia and Africa.
The site gained popularity through media coverage and online chatter. But users could only access the site through Tor – a system that allows people to use the web without revealing who they are or what country they are in.
FBI court documents said the website had fewer than 1 million registered users, but investigators said they did not know how many were active.
Ulbricht punishment – with two university degrees – District Judge Katherine Forrest said he was “no better person than any other drug dealer”.
He said the site was his “carefully planned life’s work.”
The judge noted that the long sentence also served as a message to copycats that there would be “very serious consequences”.
“I wanted to empower people to make choices in their lives and to have privacy and anonymity,” Ulbricht said in the May 2015 ruling.
Trump previously indicated that he intended to commute Ulbricht’s sentence during a speech at the Libertarian National Convention last year.
The libertarian party supported Ulbricht’s release and said his case was an example of government overreach.
Republican congressman Thomas Massie, an ally of Trump, applauded the president’s decision.
“Thank you for keeping your word to me and others who have stood up for Ross’ freedom,” the Kentucky lawmaker said.
