Who is Ross Ulbricht, the one Trump pardoned, of Silk Road?

Back in 2011, a 27-year-old man from Austin, Texas, brainstormed business ideas after obtaining a master's degree in materials science and engineering. His two startup projects related to day trading and electronic gaming failed, and in the United States after the recession, there weren't too many options for new entrepreneurs. However, the third business idea eventually succeeded and quickly became a million-dollar enterprise. This idea was about starting a website on the dark web, where people can buy almost any goods or services, beyond the reach of the law, using the world's first decentralized digital currency - Bitcoin. Yes, we are talking about 'Silk Road', a notorious online marketplace that facilitates the sale of every type of illegal drug from marijuana to cocaine, every illegal weapon from "clean pistols" to RPGs and offers premium services including murder-for-hire services. The creator of it is Ross Ulbricht, a smart engineer graduate with a belief in personal autonomy, who condemns any notion of a country trying to control a person's thoughts. He believes that all people should be free to do what they want, even if they have to face the law. Therefore, he chose a currency to transact on the Silk Road, a currency that would not be controlled or monitored by any government or bank. This website operated very well from 2011 to 2013. However, not everyone shared the same idea of ​​freedom as Ross, and in October 2013, he was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and ultimately sentenced to life imprisonment twice by a judge. Returning to January 21, 2025, at 40 years old, Ross finally stepped out of prison as a free man, after President-elect Donald Trump granted him a "full pardon." In fact, releasing Ross Ulbricht from prison on the first day of the Trump administration was one of the promises Trump made during the 2024 US presidential campaign. If you vote for me, on day one, I will reduce Ross Ulbricht's sentence to one time sentence served. He has already served 11 years. We're going to take him home," Trump said during his campaign. Finally, on January 21, Trump announced to Ross's mother that her son would be set free because he had signed a complete and unconditional pardon for Ross. Trump declared in a post on his Truth Social platform that “The scumbags who tried to frame him are the crazy ones who have turned government into a weapon against me in modern times.” He added that “He was sentenced to two life sentences, plus 40 years in prison. That's ridiculous!” The Free Party has been urging Ulbricht's release for a long time and stating that his case is an example of government overreach. This is the story so far, but many out there don't know who Ross Ulbricht is and why he was convicted. So let's delve into this topic and explore Ross's story. Who is Ross Ulbricht? Ross William Ulbricht is an American advocate for freedom, born on March 27, 1984, and is famous for operating Silk Road, the largest online market for illegal drugs in history. Silk Road was operated on the dark net with the assistance of the TOR network (The Onion Router), allowing users to buy and sell illegal goods without the need for anonymity. The market generated a whopping $214 million through Bitcoin from January 2011 to October 2013. Ulbricht had a strong belief in freedom. He believed in a political philosophy that supported individualism and minimal state intervention in people's lives. These thoughts and beliefs led him to create the Silk Road market. Ross Journey is the creator of Silk Road Ross Ulbricht, also known as Dread Pirate Roberts, named it Silk Road, referring to the ancient trade routes connecting China to Europe from the 2nd century BC. He launched this market in early 2011, operated on the darknet on the TOR network.

To attract customers, Ulbricht used many different marketing techniques such as posting market articles on magic mushroom forums and Bitcoin forums describing Silk Road as the 'anonymous amazon.com'. Not long after, he attracted thousands of customers and the attention of law enforcement agencies. The FBI's investigation into Silk Road began after they noticed an unusual shipping pattern and found drug packages related to this website. FBI agent Jared Der-Yeghiayan delved deep into the investigation, posing as a buyer and executing 52 undercover purchases. Furthermore, he seized thousands of drug packages and arrested some individuals associated with the website. Subsequently, he lured out one of the website's employees named Cirrus, compelling her to hand over her account. In May 2013, FBI investigators discovered encryption errors and vulnerabilities on the Silk Road website, leaking IP addresses and revealing that the website's server was located in a data center in Iceland. Subsequently, agents traced the username Ulbricht used to market Silk Road and uncovered his true identity. However, they still needed specific evidence and had to catch Ulbricht red-handed using a laptop and logging into the Silk Road account. So, the agents planned an operation with Homeland Security Investigations Agent Jared Der-Yeghiayan, who was still posing as a member of Silk Road. On October 1, 2013, Der-Yeghiayan saw Ulbricht log in under his fake name "Dread Pirate Roberts". Ulbricht was sitting in the Glen Park branch of the San Francisco Public Library. Der-Yeghiayan began chatting with Ulbricht while pretending to be Cirrus. As the conversation unfolded, other agents captured Ulbricht and seized his laptop, where he had logged in under the name "Dread Pirate Roberts", the mastermind behind Silk Road. The trial of Ulbricht began on January 13, 2015. Although his defense claimed that he had transferred control of Silk Road, the jury still found him guilty of all charges on February 5, 2015. On May 29, 2015, he was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole by Judge Katherine B. Forrest of the United States District Court. Why did Donald Trump pardon Ross Ulbricht? President Donald Trump has commuted Ross William Ulbricht's sentence, fulfilling a promise made during his campaign to supporters of the Libertarian Party, who saw Ulbricht as a victim of government overreach and a pioneer in the field of cryptocurrency. There were three main reasons for Trump's decision to commute Ross William Ulbricht's sentence. Support for the free party Ulbricht is a staunch libertarian. His case has become a rallying cry among all libertarians and cryptocurrency enthusiasts. Moreover, the community also sees Ulbricht as a victim of government overreach. Political strategy Trump acknowledges the strong support his campaign has received from the Freedom Movement and wants to honor that support Personal trust Trump believes he and Ulbricht are both victims of a "weaponized" government, which he stated in his post. Final thoughts Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 US presidential election and the pardon and release of Ross Ulbricht afterward are harbingers of the upcoming era when the principles of the majority will override the rule of law and even replace the legal profession, not only in the US but also in many other places around the world. DYOR! #Write2Earn #Write&Earn $BTC (BTCUSDT) {spot}