Trump Pardons Silk Road Founder Ross Ulbricht, Sparking Controversy
Cyber Daily
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Contributed by: Drex DeFord
Summary
On January 22, 2025, President Donald Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road, a darknet marketplace tied to over $180 million in illegal drug sales. Trump criticized Ulbricht's 2015 sentencing as excessive, describing it as "ridiculous," and framed the pardon as a reflection of his stance against the perceived "weaponization of government." This pardon aligns with Trump's broader pattern of granting clemency, particularly to individuals associated with the January 6 Capitol riots. Ulbricht was arrested in 2013 and charged with multiple offenses related to his operation of the Silk Road, which facilitated global illegal transactions through the TOR network.
