On Truth Social, Trump confirmed that he called Ulbricht’s mother to let her know that her son’s “full and unconditional” pardon was “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 wrote. “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!”
Brandon Sample, Ulbricht’s clemency attorney, told Reuters that Ulbricht was expected to be released soon.
“After enduring over a decade of incarceration, this decision offers Ross the opportunity to begin anew, to rebuild his life, and to contribute positively to society,” Sample said.
On X (formerly Twitter), a “Free_Ross” account with more than 55,000 followers celebrated the pardon in a post viewed 4.5 million times.
“Words cannot express how grateful we are,” the “Free_Ross” account wrote. “President Trump is a man of his word and he just saved Ross’s life. ROSS IS A FREE MAN!!!!!”
The Ulbricht family posted a statement on a linked “Free Ross” website, expressing “immense gratitude to President Trump for giving Ross a second chance and to all those who have supported us throughout the years. From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU!!!”
