RFK Jr. Pledges To Pardon Silk Road Founder Ross Ulbricht, Weeks After Trump Made Similar Promise

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has expressed his intent to pardon Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, if he becomes President. He also encouraged his followers to sign a petition for Ulbricht’s release.

What Happened: Kennedy Jr. took to X on Friday to voice his support for Ulbricht, who is serving two life sentences for creating the Silk Road, an online marketplace notorious for illegal transactions.

“Ross Ulbricht has been in prison far too long. Two life sentences for hosting an e-commerce platform. Yes, illegal activity took place there, but come on. When I'm President I will pardon him. In the meantime, I'm going to sign the petition asking for his release, and I encourage you to do the same,” he wrote.

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Ulbricht’s case has been a topic of debate for years. He was arrested in 2013 for operating Silk Road, which was accessible only through the anonymizing Tor network and accepted Bitcoin BTC/USD for payments for illegal drugs.

Why It Matters: In December 2021, he made headlines when a supporter-operated Twitter account announced an auction of his series of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) titled “The Ross Ulbricht Genesis Collection”. The collection, auctioned on the SuperRare NFT marketplace, featured artwork from various stages of Ulbricht’s life, including his time in prison.

In 2023, a U.S. Court of Appeals finalized the forfeiture of approximately 69,370 Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies valued at more than $3.4 billion, marking the official end to Ulbricht’s legal saga.

Earlier this year, former President Donald Trump also promised to commute Ulbricht’s sentence if he received the Libertarian Party’s nomination for President. His announcement was met with boos and jeers at the Libertarian National Convention.

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Image via Shutterstock

This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari