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Who is Ross William Ulbricht? 'Free Ross' trends as Donald Trump considers pardoning Silk Road founder

The president may have expressed sympathy for the situation of Ross Ulbricht, who is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole

President Donald Trump is allegedly weighing a pardon for Ross Ulbricht, creator of the now-dead dark web marketplace Silk Road who is serving a life sentence. He was arrested in 2013 and two years later a Manhattan federal jury found him guilty on seven charges including conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy to commit computer hacking, conspiracy to traffic narcotics by the means of the internet and continuing a criminal enterprise. Ulbricht, who used the pseudonym "Dread Pirate Roberts" online, was sentenced to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

According to a Daily Beast report, "The White House counsel’s office has had records related to Ross's case under review and Trump was recently made aware of the situation and the pleas of the Silk Road founder’s allies". According to two sources, Trump has at times privately displayed some sympathy for Ross's condition and has been considering his name, among others, for his next round of compensations and pardons before his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden takes office on January 20, 2020.

In the time, Ross has gained some influential backers in Trump's social and political circle. He allegedly has some support from Presidential advisers, criminal justice reform advocates with friendly ties to the administration and the Trump family, including Alice Johnson, a criminal justice reform advocate whose life sentence was commuted by Trump. She has outlined some of the cases she and her allies had already forwarded to the White House for vetting.

“I’ve had documents forwarded to my contacts in the White House as early as February,” activist Weldon Angelos, a former music producer and ex-federal inmate, said on Wednesday, December 16.

In a letter to the court, Ross said, “Silk Road was supposed to be about giving people the freedom to make their own choices, to pursue their own happiness, however they individually saw fit. [It] turned out to be a naive and costly idea that I deeply regret.”

“We’re very grateful for and admire all President Trump has done for criminal justice reform, especially passing the First Step Act, because that has freed thousands of desperate and deserving people, some of whom I know. We’re praying and remain hopeful that he will show mercy on Ross, as he has others, and commute his sentence to time served and give my son a second chance at life,” Lyn Ulbricht, Ross’ mother, told The Daily Beast.

A petition to release him has been filed on Change.Org and over 3,70,000 have already signed the petition, the count is still on. According to the petition, "Ross is condemned to die in prison, not for selling drugs himself but for creating a website where others did. This is far harsher than the punishment for many worse offenses. All the other defendants related to the case―including the actual drug sellers and the creator of Silk Road 2―received sentences from 17 months to 10 years." It further says, "This is Ross's seventh year in prison. He clings to the hope of a second chance. He dreams of a future where he can be reunited with his loved ones, start a family, contribute to society, and inspire change as an advocate for criminal justice reform."

A website Ross.org has been created which details the entire case of Ross, including statements from the top advocates in his support.

Soon his supporters took to social media and got #FreeRoss trending on Twitter. One Internet user said, "There is nothing more important right now than to plead @realDonaldTrump to do the right thing and correct a great injustice. I look forward to seeing these hashtags trending and even more so to see these good men free  #FreeRoss #PardonAssange #PardonSnowden." While another one wrote, "Great news! @realDonaldTrump Mr President, Freeing and pardoning Ross Ulbricht is both righteous and politically right. Earn the loyalty of #Opensource and #DecentralizedTech communities and freedom lovers everywhere! #FreeRoss."

Demanding not to "punish" him, another one wrote, "Ross created a marketplace. The US should not punish entrepreneurs. #freeross." Defending him, another one said, "Silk Road was a libertarian free market, not a "drug market." Ross wasn't a "kingpin," he created a website. If you haven't, please join the 365,000+ who have signed Ross's clemency petition. #FreeRoss2020 #FreeRoss"

While some were not in favor of the expected cause, as one wrote, "Of course trump would grant him a pardon. He could pay trump millions for his get out of jail card. Pay attention to the RICH criminals he pardons...not the poor ones." While another one slammed Trump saying, "If Trump does this it will basically be admitting that Trump is a money launderer...or that he buys drugs or hires hitmen. Silk Road was designed to make it easier for criminals to get away with crime."

Born on March 27, 1984, Ross Ulbricht grew up near Austin, Texas, studying physics at the University of Texas at Dallas and then Pennsylvania State University to pursue a master's program in materials science. According to investopedia, in 2009, upon his graduation from Penn State,  Ross returned to Austin to become an entrepreneur. His early attempts were unsuccessful and he moved between jobs. He tried his hand at day trading and developing video games, as well as founding a company to sell books online. It was at this time that he created the darknet market website Silk Road in 2011 and operated it until his arrest in 2013. Silk Road was devised to use Tor for anonymity and bitcoin as a currency. Ulbricht's online pseudonym was "Dread Pirate Roberts" after the fictional character in the novel 'The Princess Bride' and its film adaptation.

On February 4, 2015, Ulbricht got convicted for money laundering, computer hacking, conspiracy to traffic fraudulent identity documents, and conspiracy to traffic narcotics using the internet. On May 29, 2015, he was sentenced to a double life sentence plus forty years without the possibility of parole. His appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 2017 and the U.S Supreme Court in 2018 were both not successful. He is currently incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary in Tucson.

MEAWW cannot independently verify this news and does not support any claims being made on the Internet.