Since taking office, Donald Trump has been handing out presidential pardons like hot cakes. After granting pardon to 1,270 people convicted for their participation in the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, the 47th American president announced Tuesday January 21 that he had granted the same treatment to Ross Ulbricht, the creator of a website selling drugs online.
“I have just called the mother of Ross William Ulbricht to let her know that (…) I have the pleasure of signing a total and unconditional pardon for her son”wrote Donald on his Truth Social network, Tuesday January 21.
But who is this drug trafficker for whom the billionaire took up the cause, he who has continued to accuse Democratic leaders of being too lenient with criminals?
Ross Ulbricht grew up in Texas, where he began his studies, before joining the University of Pennsylvania in 2006. Member of a group with libertarian ideas, the young man was passionate about the work of the Austrian school of economics, which places great value on the choices of individuals.
An engineer and researcher in physics and chemistry for five years, he contributes to several scientific articles on renewable energies. The Austin native then briefly ran the company Good Wagon Books, dedicated to collecting, repairing and redistributing discarded items.
“Abolish the use of coercion”
At the turn of the 2010s, Ross Ulbricht made a real ideological shift. Referring to his past research work, he explains on the social network LinkedIn that his ” objective “ during this period “was simply to expand the frontiers of human knowledge. »
-“Now my goals have changed.I want to use economic theory as a means to abolish the use of coercion and aggression within humanity,” announces the young libertarian. And for him, this involves… the creation of an online drug sales site.
Launched in January 2011, the “Silk Road” platform allows its users to buy and sell cannabis, cocaine, heroin or fake IDs. All in complete anonymity thanks to payment in bitcoins. The site is hosted on the dark net, the hidden side of the Web. On this “Drug eBay” $200 million worth of drugs were sold before the FBI closed it in October 2013.
Its founder, hidden behind the pseudonym of « terrible pirate Roberts »named after a character in the film Princess Briderakes in millions of euros, then gets caught up in the courts.
At his trial, Ross Ulbricht presents himself as a digital civil rights defender, saying he wanted “empowering people to make choices in their lives and to benefit from privacy and anonymity”. But his argument does not convince the judges. In 2015, barely thirty years old, Ross Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison for drug trafficking and illegal commercial operations.
Since then, libertarian groups have called for his release, believing that his conviction was an attack on the principles of the free market and free enterprise. To obtain their support, Donald Trump promised during his campaign to pardon Ross Ulbricht “from day one” of his mandate. It’s done.
