Dark Web Drug Marketplace ‘Silk Road’ Founder Ross Ulbricht Pardoned by Donald Trump

Ross Ulbricht, who founded the dark web drug marketplace named 'Silk Road' pardoned by US president Donald Trump. Ulbricht was convicted for charges which included conspiracy to commit drug trafficking, money laundering and computer hacking in the year 2015 in New York. Ulbricht is considered to be a pioneer of crypto-crime.

Libertarian activists opined that government investigators overreached in building their case against Silk Road, calling Ulbricht a "political prisoner" and victim to the harsh drug policies. Donald Trump made good on a campaign pledge to free Ulbricht which he made during a speech at the Libertarian National Convention.

"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 penned in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

Ulbricht known under the alias "Dread Pirate Roberts" created 'Silk Road' in January 2011 and operated the underground website until it was shut down by law enforcement in 2013. Majority of the products sold through the site were illegal drugs belonging to the categories 'Opioids', 'Ecstasy', 'Cannabis', 'psychedelics' and so on. The marketplace served as an infamous black-market which the public utilized to sell and buy unlawful goods and services without any supervision.

The site was operated on "The Onion Router" or "Tor" network which was designed to conceal the identity of the users (by anonymizing IP addresses) and thereby ensuring complete privacy. Furthermore, Ulbricht had included a Bitcoin-based payment method through which illegal transactions could be made. Through the illicit sales that happened in this drug marketplace, he was able to reap more than $13 million as commissions.

The legal undertakings which happened in 2015 had ended with the court sentencing him for life in prison on May 29 2015.

Many folks expressed their support and gratitude on the decision of Donald Trump to release Ross Ulbricht. 'Sasswatcher', a X (Twitter) handle used Donald Trump's own words and articulated her gratitude through the post which read "Promise made. Promise kept. ROSS ULBRICHT IS A FREE MAN thanks to @realDonaldTrump !"

For years, the #FreeRoss movement garnered support from activists, libertarians and tech leaders, and now the full pardon by Donald Trump has put an end to one of the most debated chapters of cyberworld. Revival of his case has ignited widespread debates about internet freedom, privacy, and ethics surrounding digital-age punishment.

(Input from various sources)

(Rehash/Jithin Paul/MSM)