The accusation of murder-for-hire, in fact, prevented the first Trump administration from pardoning Ulbricht: the White House in 2020 considered releasing Ulbricht but ultimately rejected the idea because of the role of violence in the case, according to one of the former. government officials involved in the process spoke to WIRED on condition of anonymity. Since then, the Trump administration has changed its stance on the Ulbricht case—in part, perhaps, because of its embrace of the libertarian cryptocurrency community, for which Ulbricht has become a martyr and cause célèbre. At the Libertarian National Convention in Washington, DC last May, presidential candidate Trump promised to commute Ulbricht’s sentence “on day one” if re-elected. (Finally, a single day passed without clemency for Ulbricht, although Trump pardoned more than a thousand participants in the January 6, 2021 uprising at the US Capitol, although Trump’s ally Elon Musk promised in a message to X on Monday afternoon that “Ross will be released as well.”) Only what role Ulbricht will play in the free world is unclear. Even in his statement to the judge at the sentencing hearing in 2015, Ulbricht never fully acknowledged the harm caused by his drug dealing on the Silk Road and still expressed remorse for his actions in a public post against X, Jared Der-Yeghiayan, former Tanah Air . The Security Investigations Agency that hacked Silk Road as part of the case against Ulbricht told WIRED in November “The idea of him being released doesn’t bother me,” said Der-Yeghiayan, who is now head of strategic intelligence at cryptocurrency tracking firm Chainalysis. “I am disturbed that there is now a perception that he did nothing, which does not acknowledge the facts of the case.” However, among some advocates of criminal justice reform, Ulbricht has become an example of excessive punishment, especially given it. that he was technically charged with a non-violent crime. “Ros has served more than enough time. He’s been a model prisoner. He’s a first-time, nonviolent offender. He poses zero security risk to the community,” Alice Johnson, CEO of the justice reform foundation Taking Action for Good told WIRED in November. Johnson, spent twenty years in prison himself for selling drugs before his sentence was commuted by Trump in 2018. “I believe that the Ross case will pave the way for many other people who were unfairly given this draconian sentence to go home.” On Tuesday night, Ulbricht’s supporters celebrated his freedom and thanked Trump for his pardon. “Words cannot express my gratitude,” said a tweet from @Free_Ross, the X account dedicated to more than a decade of efforts for Ulbricht. “President Trump is a man of his word and he just saved Ross’ life. ROSS IS A FREE MAN!!!!!”Additional reporting by Joel Khalili
