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Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht expressed his heartfelt gratitude to President Trump on Thursday in his first public remarks since receiving the commander in chief’s pardon that freed him from a life sentence.
“Last night, Donald Trump granted me a full pardon. I was doing life without parole and I was locked up for more than 11 years. But he let me out. I’m a free man now. So let it be known that Donald Trump is a man of his word,” Ulbricht said in a video posted on X.
Ulbricht, 40, was serving a double life sentence plus 40 years at a maximum-security prison in Arizona after being convicted in February 2015 for his connection to the notorious dark web marketplace, where users could anonymously buy or sell narcotics or a wide range of other illicit items with bitcoin.
Trump, who in his pardon announcement slammed the punishment handed down to Ulbricht as “ridiculous,” had vowed to release the Silk Road founder last May.
“Thank you so much, President Trump, for giving me this amazing blessing,” Ulbricht continued, placing his hand over his heart.
“I am so, so grateful to have my life back, to have my future back, to have this second chance,” he added.
Trump, 78, indicated that aside from the stiff sentence handed down to Ulbricht, who went by “Dread Pirate Roberts” on the Silk Road marketplace he allegedly ran, he pardoned him to “honor” his mother, Lyn Ulbricht, and “the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly.”
Libertarians, who view Ulbricht as a Bitcoin pioneer and free market hero, had long demanded his release.
“This is such an important moment for me and for my whole family,” Ulbricht said. “It’s an important moment for everybody who’s been working for this for years. This is a victory, and it’s your victory too.”
“This is an important moment for everybody, everywhere who loves freedom and who cares about second chances.”
Ulbricht said his first few days as a free man have felt both “amazing” and “overwhelming,” and that he intends to spend time with his family for “however long we need.”
“But there’s a lot to talk about,” he added. “And I look forward to re-engaging with the free world … once I’m feeling up to it.”
