The murder-for-hire allegations actually discouraged the first Trump administration from pardoning Ulbricht. According to one former government official involved in the process, who spoke to WIRED on condition of anonymity, the White House in 2020 considered releasing Ulbricht but ultimately rejected the idea because of the alleged role of violence in the case.
Since then, however, the Trump administration has changed its position on Ulbricht – perhaps in part due to support for the libertarian cryptocurrency community, for which Ulbricht has become a martyr and a cause of celebration. At the Libertarian National Convention in Washington last May, then-presidential candidate Trump promised to commute Ulbricht’s sentence “on day one” if re-elected. (Ultimately, the first day passed without mercy for Ulbricht, even though Trump pardoned over a thousand participants in the Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021, although Trump ally Elon Musk promised in write to X on Monday night that “Ross will be freed too”).
It is unclear what role Ulbricht will play in the free world. Even in his statement to the judge at his 2015 sentencing hearing, Ulbricht never fully acknowledged the harm caused by selling drugs on the Silk Road. According to Jared Der-Yeghiayan, a former Homeland Security Investigations agent who infiltrated the Silk Road during the investigation, Ulbricht continues to show no remorse for his actions in public office at X.
“The thought of his release doesn’t worry me at all,” says Der-Yeghiayan, who currently works as head of strategic intelligence at cryptocurrency tracking firm Chainalytic. “It worries me if the current belief is that he did nothing wrong; which does not support the facts.”
But among some criminal justice reform advocates, Ulbricht has become a poster child for an excessive sentence, especially considering he was formally charged with nonviolent crimes. “Ross has served more than enough time. He was an exemplary prisoner. He is a first-time violent offender. It poses no threat to community safety,” Alice Johnson, CEO of the criminal 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 more people who have unfairly received these sentences.” draconian sentences to return home.”
On Tuesday night, 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 more than a decade of efforts on behalf of Ulbricht. “President Trump is a man of his word and he just saved Ross’s life. ROSS IS A FREE MAN!!!!”
Additional reporting by Joel Khalili