Ross Ulbricht breaks silence after 'amazing blessing' of being pardoned by President Trump: 'There's a lot to talk about'

Ross Ulbricht – the founder of the infamous Silk Road dark web marketplace – has broken his silence since leaving prison after being pardoned by President Donald Trump.

Ulbricht created the dark web marketplace Silk Road in 2011, where federal authorities said users were able to buy and sell illegal drugs and other unlawful goods and services.

'I am so, so grateful to have my life back, to have my future back, to have this second chance.'

The feds busted Ulbricht, and he has been in prison for more than 11 years. He was convicted of distributing narcotics, distributing narcotics by means of the internet, conspiring to distribute narcotics, engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, conspiring to commit computer hacking, conspiring to traffic in false identity documents, and conspiring to commit money laundering.

Ulbricht – a first-time offender – was sentenced to a double life sentence plus 40 years at a maximum-security prison in Arizona.

As Blaze News reported this week, Trump pardoned Ulbricht to end his nightmare.

"I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbright [sic] to let her know that in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly, it was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross," Trump declared.

Lyn Ulbricht – the mother of Ross – has been working tirelessly for over a decade to get her son released from prison.

"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 added. "He was given two life sentences, plus 40 years. Ridiculous!"

On Thursday, the Free Ross account on the X social media platform shared a video of Ulbricht expressing how grateful he was for President Trump.

Ulbricht began, "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."

"Thank you so much, President Trump, for giving me this amazing blessing," Ulbricht said. "I am so, so grateful to have my life back, to have my future back, to have this second chance."

"This is such an important moment for me and for my whole family. It's an important moment for everyone who has been working for this for years," stated Ulbricht – who operated under the pseudonym "Dread Pirate Roberts," a reference to "The Princess Bride" movie.

Ulbricht continued, "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. It's overwhelming and for the next however long we need, I'm going to be with my family, so that we can reunite and be whole again and heal," Ulbricht said.

He concluded, "But there's a lot to talk about, and I look forward to re-engaging with the free world. And so, once I'm feeling up to it, we'll talk again."

Ross wrote on X, "The past 36 hours have been a complete whirlwind and we keep pinching ourselves to make sure we're not dreaming. So much gratitude, love, and hope for what's to come. Thank you for all your messages! We can't reply to everyone but know it means so much to us."

The release of Ulbricht was a top issue with supporters of the Libertarian Party.

Trump recognized the political worth of the issue and vowed to commute the sentence of Ulbricht if he were elected during his appearance at the Libertarian National Convention in May.

Libertarian National Committee Chair Angela McArdle described Ulbricht as "a libertarian political prisoner for more than a decade."

“I’m proud to say that saving his life has been one of our top priorities and that has finally paid off,” McArdle stated.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) stated, "I've always been a believer in fair and appropriate punishment. Donald Trump went to libertarians and he said, ‘I want your vote and I'll free Ross Ulbricht,’ and he kept his promise. All I can say is thank you, Donald Trump."

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said, "Ross Ulbricht has been freed by President Trump with a full pardon! Thank you for keeping your word to me and others who have been advocating for Ross’ freedom, Mr. President!"

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