Donald Trump releases founder of 'eBay of drugs', crime empire shut down by FBI
Donald Trump has only recently been at the head of the United States but is already making more announcements. After participating in return of TikTok after 12 hours of banthe president-elect pardons the founder of “Drug eBay”Ross Ulbricht.
Who is Ross Ulbricht, founder of Silk Road?
Ross Ulbricht was born in Texas in 1984. It was in his twenties that the man adopted the libertarian philosophy and the concepts of limited government, individual freedom, respect for privacy and the free market. At the age of 26, in 2011, he founded Silk Road.
THE “Drug eBay” allowed the purchase of illegal products such as drugs or false documents in total anonymity from the Tor browser with bitcoin transactions. According to the FBI, the site generated hundreds of millions of dollars.
Ross Ulbricht was identified by leaving a digital trail in 2011. A tax agent discovered a message about Silk Road on a forum, published by someone who, a few months later, posted a job offer under his real name . The man was arrested in October 2013 and then sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of release in 2015.
Before being sentenced, Ross Ulbricht sent a letter to the judge in which he explained that Silk Road was originally designed to “give people the freedom to make their own choices”. The leader of this “Drug eBay” admits that his site has become “partly a practical way for people to satisfy their drug addiction”.
Ross Ulbricht receives enormous support from libertarian circles who view his conviction as an overreach of government power. A petition was created in 2018, launched by his family, with more than 607,000 signatures. In 2022, the man writes to Joe Biden and explains to him that he is a “different man” by requesting a commutation of sentence, without success.
In 2024, Ross Ulbricht celebrates 40 years in prison. On Tuesday January 21, 2025, the man was pardoned by Donald Trump who had made it a campaign promise to libertarians. On the Free Ross website, his wife declares “ROSS ULBRICHT IS FREE!!! Our immense gratitude to President Trump for giving Ross and everyone who has supported us throughout the years a second chance.”
If Ross Ulbricht has received so much support, it is because American libertarians believe that he is the victim of an injustice in the system. Aficionados bitcoin which exploded following the election of Donald Trump also believe that man participated in its development. For the moment, the creator of Silk Road has not reacted to his release. Oh and, as a reminder, the president-elect launched his own cryptocurrency: the $TRUMP.
