Trump pardons Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht
In 2015, a 31-year-old yoga enthusiast from Austin, Ross Ulbricht, was found guilty of being the online drug kingpin known as “the pirate Roberts.” He was convicted of 7 charges and sentenced by the judge. On Tuesday, Trump pardoned Ulbricht, and he is now a free man after more than 10 years in prison.
Under the alias “Dread Pirate Roberts,” Ulbricht ran a drug empire through the deep web site Silk Road. He believed that computers could do everything, including facilitating illegal drug markets. If you knew how to do it, then buying LSD, heroin, or other street drugs online was as easy as clicking and finding a reliable mailbox.
Prosecutors said Ulbricht was the mastermind behind the entire operation, a drug lord who facilitated the hiring of hitmen and worked to protect his criminal digital enterprise. The charges included money laundering, drug trafficking, and computer hacking.
### Not everyone agreed
The trial against Ulbricht had its critics. Prosecutors made it seem like Silk Road was more violent than any other illegal drug market. But in truth, it was much safer. As an online system with an active forum and other features, Silk Road was a place where drug dealers had to build a good reputation and rarely met face to face with customers.
There were controversies at the time, and as the war on drugs evolved, Ulbricht’s trial no longer felt fair. Marijuana is legal in almost the entire country, hallucinogens are routinely used in therapy, and there are communities that have experimented with fairly lax drug laws. The fact that Ulbricht went to jail did not stop the digital drug trade. It seemed to have no effect. It is easier than ever to buy illegal drugs online.
Trump had previously promised to release Ulbricht, and Elon Musk hinted that it would happen shortly after taking office. Less than a day after his inauguration, he kept his word. An account related to the movement for Ulbricht’s release tweeted a picture of the “pirate,” walking in sportswear through a parking lot. He smiled at the camera as a free man, with a small plant in a plastic cup.
