Donald Trump Pardons Penn Stater Ross William Ulbricht, Founder Of Silk Road

That’s at least two Penn Staters out of jail in two days.
Ross William Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road website, was pardoned by President Donald Trump on Tuesday, one day after Trump retook office. Ulbricht was released after serving more than nine years in federal prison — he was sentenced to two full life sentences plus 40 years, without the possibility of parole, in May 2015.
Ulbricht earned his master’s in materials science and engineering from Penn State after earning his undergraduate degree from Texas. He was convicted of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, distributing narcotics, distributing narcotics by means of the internet, conspiracy to distribute narcotics, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to traffic fraudulent identity documents, and conspiracy to commit computer hacking.
Silk Road, which functioned until 2014, was an online black market. It allowed users to purchase illegal products, including drugs, with complete anonymity through cryptocurrency. Ulbricht ran the website under the pseudonym “Dread Pirate Roberts.”
Prosecutors also alleged that Ulbricht was involved in murder-for-hire dealing with intent to kill at least five people, though they also believed nobody was killed in contract work on Ulbricht’s behalf. While Ulbricht was never charged with the murder-for-hire in New York federal court, the judge took those allegations into account for his sentencing. Ulbricht was indicted with murder-for-hire in Maryland, though it was dropped after his federal conviction in New York was finalized.
Ulbricht’s case became a rallying point for American libertarians, who frequently called for his pardon and commutation. Several politicians announced support for Ulbricht. Trump, in May 2024, announced that he would commute Ulbricht’s sentence during his first day in office. He missed the mark by one day.
“The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern day weaponization of government against me,” Trump wrote about Ulbricht on Truth Social, calling Ulbricht’s sentencing “ridiculous.”
Ulbricht has “NEVER BEEN a violent kingpin or criminal mastermind: Ross’s entire life (including in prison) is living proof that this is utterly false,” reads FreeRoss.org, a website advocating for Ulbricht’s release. “In his twenties, Ross was an idealist. He cared about bettering the world. He was not motivated by money or power, dedicating himself to causes he believed in.”
Ulbricht, according to that same website, was fairly involved on campus while at Penn State. He worked with the Libertarian Club and on the Ron Paul presidential campaign, even getting Paul to speak at Penn State.
For those interested in diving down the rabbit hole, Ulbricht’s master’s thesis — “Growth of EuO thin films by molecular beam epitaxy” — is still available on the Penn State University Libraries server here.
Ulbricht was one of at least two Penn Staters pardoned by Trump during his first days in office. Robert Morss, who graduated from Penn State in December 2020, was pardoned by Trump on Monday for his connection in the January 6, 2021, riots. After his release from a halfway house, Morss drove from Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C., to advocate for the release of still-imprisoned January 6 rioters.
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