These allegations of contract killings actually stopped the first Trump administration from granting clemency to Ulbricht. The White House considered releasing Ulbricht in 2020 but ultimately rejected the idea because of the alleged role of violence in the case, according to a former administration official involved in the process who spoke to WIRED on condition of anonymity.
Since then, however, the Trump administration has changed its stance on Ulbricht’s case – perhaps in part due to its support 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, then-presidential candidate Trump promised to commute Ulbricht’s sentence “on day one” if he is re-elected. (Ultimately, the first day passed without mercy for Ulbricht, even as Trump pardoned more than a thousand participants at the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol, despite Trump’s ally Elon Musk promising in one post on X on Monday evening that “Ross will also be released.”
What role Ulbricht will play in the free world is still unclear. Even in his testimony to the judge at his sentencing in 2015, 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 posts at X.
“The idea of him being released doesn’t bother me in the slightest,” says Der-Yeghiayan, who now works as head of strategic intelligence at cryptocurrency tracing firm Chainalysis. “It bothers me if the impression now arises that he has done nothing wrong; That doesn’t recognize the facts of the case.”
But among some criminal justice reform advocates, Ulbricht has become an example of over-punishment, especially given that he was formally accused of nonviolent crimes. “Ross has served more than enough time. He was a model prisoner. He is a non-violent first-time offender. He poses no safety risk to the community,” Alice Johnson, CEO of 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 pardoned her in 2020. “I believe the Ross case will pave the way for many others who have been unfairly inflicted with these draconian sentences to come home.”
On Tuesday evening, Ulbricht’s supporters celebrated his freedom and thanked Trump for his mercy. “Words cannot express how grateful we are,” said a tweet from @Free_Ross, an X account dedicated to Ulbricht’s more than decade-long advocacy. “President Trump is true to his word and just saved Ross’ life. ROSS IS A FREE MAN!!!!”
Additional reporting by Joel Khalili
