Washington: US President Donald Trump has pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road darknet store, sentenced to life over participating in drug trade.
“I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbricht to let her know that in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly, it was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross,” Trump said on Truth Social on Tuesday.
The president also compared the case against Ulbricht with cases against himself.
“The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern day weaponization of government against me. He was given two life sentences, plus 40 years. Ridiculous!” the post read.
Ulbricht was sentenced for life in 2015 after the jury found him guilty of organizing a criminal drug trafficking scheme that provided transactions for over $200 million.
In October 2013, US authorities closed the Silk Road web store that specialized in selling prohibited substances in the Tor anonymous network. Experts estimate that the store listed over 10,000 items, with 70% of those being psychoactive substances banned in all or most countries.
At the same time, Trump has repeatedly called for life sentences in all drug trade-related cases.
