‘It feels amazing to be free’
The creator of a dark web marketplace has sent a message to Donald Trump after being pardoned and released from prison.
Since Donald Trump was sworn into office and became the 47th president of the United States on Monday (January 20), executive orders and presidential pardons have been flying out.
On the list of the excused include the January 6 rioters, Washington DC police officers Andrew Zabavsky and Terence Sutton convicted for their roles in a deadly chase and subsequent cover-up, and some 23 anti-abortion protestors.
However, arguably the biggest name on the list is Ross Ulbricht, a 40-year-old tech pro from Texas who created and operated the darkweb market website, Silk Road, from 2011 up until his arrest in 2013 and conviction two years later.
The president has pardoned the dark web creator (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
For the past 11 years, Ulbricht has been locked up behind bars for crimes ranging from engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, distributing narcotics by means of the internet, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to traffic fraudulent identity documents, and conspiracy to commit computer hacking.
He was sentenced to double life in prison plus 40 years without any possibility of parole – until now.
Calls to liberate Ulbricht have been in full-swing since his dramatic FBI arrest in 2013 and apparently caught the ears of the president while on his campaign trail.
Trump later vowed to free the Silk Road founder if he returned to power while at the Libertarian Party National Convention last year.
Members of the Libertarian Party campaigned for Ross Ulbricht’s release (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Now, Ulbricht has sent his thanks to the POTUS on Twitter.
In his almost two-minute-long video, he started off with the announcement that the POTUS granted him a ‘full pardon’ while reminding viewers of the time he’s already spent behind bars.
He said: “I was doing life without parole and I was locked up for more than 11 years, but he let me out. I’m a free man now.
“So let it be known that Donald Trump is a man of his word,” he continued with a hand on his heart. “Thank you so much, President Trump for giving me this amazing blessing.”
Ulbricht also stressed how ‘grateful’ he is to be released from prison, adding: “To have my future back, to have a second change. This is such an important moment for me and my whole family, it’s an important moment for everybody who has been working for this for years.”
To his fans and campaigners, he said: “This is a victory and it’s your victory, too. And this is an important moment for everybody, everywhere, who loves freedom and who cares about second chances.
“So, it feels amazing to be free, to say the least, and it’s overwhelming.”
He was grateful to the president (Twitter/@RealRossU)
He finished by saying he will need to spend some time with his family to ‘reunite’ and ‘heal’ but promised he would be back.
“There’s a lot to talk about and I look forward to reengaging with the free world. And so once I’m feeling up to it, we’ll talk again,” he ended his message.
Fans have since been flooding social media with their thoughts on his release and pardon.
“We are so happy to see you out!” one wrote on Twitter, while another chimed: “What was done to you was outrageous and should have never happened.”
A third added: “You deserved your freedom. Making a simple website should not be a crime.”
Darknet Diaries’ Jack Rhysider also wrote: “When you’re feeling up for it, I’d love to sit down with you for an interview. But get some rest, catch your breath, and let the reality sink in for a while. Enjoy yourself.”
