Donald Trump’s first measures, two days after his inauguration, never cease to surprise. After the convicts at the Capitol, the Republican announced Tuesday the pardon of the creator of the illegal site “Silk Road”, which served as an online platform for the sale of millions of dollars of narcotics around the world. Ross Ulbricht was sentenced in 2015 to life in prison for drug trafficking and illegal business operations.
His site, a veritable eBay of dope, created in January 2011, was used to sell numerous illegal goods on the darkwebincluding $200 million in drugs, before being closed by the FBI in October 2013. The 40-year-old man was also accused of having ordered no less than five murders.
Much more than a simple agreement, this pardon from the drug king was a campaign promise for the billionaire. The latter had promised to release him during a speech in May before the convention of the Libertarian Party, a fringe movement which advocates individual freedoms and a minimal role for government. “I have just called the mother of Ross William Ulbricht to let her know that in her honor and that of the libertarian movement, which has supported me so ardently, I have the pleasure of signing a total and unconditional pardon for her son »declared the new American president on his social network Truth Social. “The scum who worked to convict him are some of the same crazy people who participated in the modern weaponization of the government against me”he added.
Ulbricht’s case became famous in libertarian circles, who denounced his conviction as an attack on free market principles. This pardon comes as Donald Trump had made law and order pillars of his electoral campaign, constantly accusing Democrats of being soft on delinquency and crime.
