These murder-for-hire allegations actually dissuaded the first Trump administration from granting clemency to Ulbricht. In 2020, the White House considered releasing Ulbricht but ultimately rejected the idea due to the alleged role of violence in the case, according to a former government official involved in the process who spoke to WIRED under the guise of anonymity.
Since then, however, the Trump administration has changed its position on Ulbricht’s case, perhaps in part due to its embrace of the libertarian cryptocurrency community, for whom Ulbricht has become a martyr and cause celebre. At the Libertarian National Convention in Washington, D.C., last May, Trump, then a presidential candidate, promised to commute Ulbricht’s sentence “from day one” if he is re-elected. (In the end, the first day went unkindly for Ulbricht, although Trump pardoned more than a thousand participants during the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the United States Capitol, although Trump ally Elon Musk promised in a post on Monday evening that “Ross will also be released. )
The exact role Ulbricht will play in the free world is far from clear. Even in his statement to the judge at the 2015 sentencing hearing, Ulbricht never fully acknowledged the harm caused by Silk Road drug sales. And according to Jared Der-Yeghiayan, a former Homeland Security Investigations agent who infiltrated the Silk Road during the investigation, Ulbricht still shows little remorse for his actions in his public messages to X.
“The idea of his release doesn’t bother me at all,” says Der-Yeghiayan, who now works as head of strategic intelligence at cryptocurrency tracking company Chainalysis. “It bothers me that it now seems like he did nothing wrong; this does not recognize the facts of the case.
However, among some criminal justice reform advocates, Ulbricht became an example of over-conviction, especially since he was technically charged with non-violent crimes. “Ross has served more than enough time. He was a model prisoner. He is a first time non-violent offender. It poses no safety risk to the community,” Alice Johnson, CEO of the justice reform foundation Taking Action for Good, told WIRED in November. Johnson herself spent two decades in prison for attempted possession with intent to distribute before Trump commuted her life sentence in 2018 and granted her a pardon in 2020. “I believe Ross’s case will lead the way to many others who have unjustly received these sentences. draconian penalties to return home.
On Tuesday evening, Ulbricht’s supporters celebrated his freedom and expressed gratitude to Trump for his clemency. “Words cannot express how grateful we are,” read a tweet from @Free_Ross, an X account dedicated to Ulbricht’s more than decade-long efforts. “President Trump is a man of his word and he just saved Ross’s life. ROSS IS A FREE MAN!!!!”
Additional reports by Joel Khalili
