Donald Trump has added Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht to the growing list of those pardoned since retaking office on Monday.
Trump said Tuesday that he had signed a full and unconditional pardon for Ulbricht, who was sentenced to life in prison in 2015 over his dark web marketplace, Silk Road.
Prosecutors said during his trial that Silk Road sold more than US$200 million worth of drugs anonymously using Bitcoin, alongside hacking equipment and stolen passports.
Ulbricht was also accused of soliciting six murders-for-hire, though no evidence was said to have existed to prove the killings actually happened.
Trump dubbed Ulbricht’s sentencing, which found him guilty of conspiracy to commit drug trafficking, money laundering and computer hacking, as “ridiculous” in a Truth Social post.
“The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern day weaponisation of government against me,” the president added.
Ulbricht’s adds to a string of pardons made since Trump returned to the White House for a second term on Monday, including around 1,500 for those connected to the US Capitol riot in January 2021.