Donald Trump Is Reportedly Considering Granting Clemency to Silk Road Founder Ross Ulbricht

Key highlights:

• Ross Ulbricht was the founder of the Silk Road dark web marketplace, and is currently serving a double life sentence plus 40 years without the chance of parole
• The campaign to grant clemency to Ulbricht has drawn many supporters who argue that his sentencing is excessive
• According to a Daily Beast report, U.S. President Donald Trump is aware of Ulbricht's case and is considering granting him clemency

Trump is reportedly considering clemency for Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht

Ross Ulbricht, who launched Silk Road in 2011, is currently serving a double life sentence for his role in operating the infamous dark web marketplace. Ulbricht’s case has drawn many critics, who argue that his sentencing was excessive. FreeRoss.org, a campaign to grant clemency to Ulbricht, has managed to ammass over 360,000 signatures supporting their cause. The campaign for Ulbricht has also drawn plenty of support from the cryptocurrency community, as Silk Road represented a very important milestone in the adoption of Bitcoin. 

After already serving 8 years of his prison sentence, the 36-year-old Ulbricht now has renewed hope for some relief and a second chance at life, as outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly considering granting him clemency. The Daily Beast cites three anonymous sources as saying that Trump has been made aware of Ulbricht’s situation, and his office has been reviewing the case. According to the report, Ulbricht has some influential backers in Trump’s »political and social orbit«. The Daily Beast’s sources say that Trump has been sympathetic to Ulbricht’s case in a private capacity.

Justice reform advocate Weldon Angelos, an ex-music producer who was granted a reduced sentence after being sentenced to 55 years in prison, told the Daily Beast:

"In the beginning of the year, [Ulbricht’s] family had reached out to us for our support, and my organization and I have endorsed his full commutation, and I am hopeful that President Trump will commute his sentence in its entirety. This case has perhaps more support than I’ve seen in any case of this kind."

We will find out very soon if Trump does decide to grant clemency to Ulbricht – despite Trump’s questioning of the fairness of the presidential election, it seems practically certain that Joe Biden will be inaugurated as the next president of the United States on January 20. During his 4-year term, Trump has so far granted clemency to 45 individuals.