Ross Ulbricht, the recently pardoned mastermind behind the Silk Road online black market, posted a video Thursday praising Donald Trump and thanking him for his release.
“Let it be known that Donald Trump is a man of his word,” he said, putting his hand to his heart. “Thank you so much, President Trump, for giving me this amazing blessing. I am so, so grateful to have my life back and my future back, to have this second chance.”
On the campaign trail, Trump had promised to pardon Ulbricht, now 40, who was arrested in 2013 for creating and running an anonymous black market on the dark web that generated hundreds of millions of dollars in sales of illegal goods and services, including drugs like heroin and cocaine. He was sentenced to life in prison for drug trafficking, computer hacking, and money laundering.
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Libertarians and crypto fans had long called for Ulbricht’s release, and on Tuesday, Trump announced that he was issuing him a full and unconditional pardon “in honor” of the libertarians who had voted for him.
The same day, he threatened to impose a 10 percent tariff on goods imported from Chinese, claiming “they’re sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada” which then made its way into the U.S.
Ulbricht’s supporters have long argued he wasn’t personally selling the drugs and was therefore a political prisoner. The court took the view that earning $13 million worth of Bitcoin in commissions on the sales was close enough.
“It feels amazing to be free, to say the least,” Ulbricht said in his video, adding that it’s also “overwhelming” and that he plans to take time to be with his family so they can “reunite” and “be whole again and heal.”
He also called his pardon an “important moment” for anyone who “loves freedom and who cares about second chances.”
