Ulbricht was sentenced to two life sentences plus 40 years in prison for operating the website, which allegedly facilitated $183 million in drug sales.

US President Donald Trump has pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the jailed founder of darknet black market Silk Road.

Trump said Tuesday that he had called Ulbricht’s mother to inform her that he had signed a “full and unconditional pardon” for her son. sentenced to life imprisonment In 2015, he was sentenced without the possibility of parole for participating in an illegal market operation.

“The scumbags who convicted him are the same lunatics who participated in the weaponization of modern government against me,” Trump said on his social media platform “Truth Social.”

“He was sentenced to two life sentences plus 40 years in prison. Ridiculous!”

Ulbricht, 40, was found guilty of seven counts related to the operation of Silk Road, which used Bitcoin to facilitate the sale of illegal drugs and other illicit goods, including distributing drugs and engaging in criminal activity.

U.S. prosecutors said the website had been used to facilitate more than 1.5 million transactions worth approximately $213 million, including more than $183 million in drug sales.

Prosecutors also allege that Ulbricht, who went by the pseudonym “Dread Pirate Roberts,” solicited the murder of people he considered a threat to his business, although he was not charged in connection with the murder-for-hire plot and there was no evidence that anyone actually Already killed.

In sentencing Ulbricht, U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest said the California man’s actions were his “carefully planned life’s work” and that he was “no better than any other drug dealer.”

While Ulbricht admitted to creating the Silk Road, his lawyers argued that he had turned over control of the “economic experiment” to others months later and was lured back to create the real deal as authorities closed in. The operator is responsible.

Ulbricht’s case is seen as an example of government overreach by libertarians and cryptocurrency enthusiasts, who argue that Ulbricht was unfairly prosecuted because he himself did not sell illegal goods and was charged for using the site The person responsible for the transaction.

In May, Trump told the Libertarian Party’s national convention, a fringe party with no representation in the U.S. Congress, that if elected he would commute Ulbricht’s sentence “on day one” of his administration.

After Trump was elected in November, Ulbricht expressed his gratitude to those who voted Republican on his behalf.

“I believe he will fulfill his promise and give me a second chance. After spending over 11 years in the dark, I can finally see the light of freedom at the end of the tunnel,” he said in a post on X said.

Thomas Massie, a Republican congressman known for his advocacy of liberal causes, was one of many Ulbricht supporters who welcomed news of the pardon.

“Ross Ulbricht has been released and granted a full pardon by President Trump! Mr. President, thank you for keeping your word to me and others who have been advocating for Ross’ freedom!” Massey, who represents a district in Kentucky, on X said in the post.