Trump will commute life sentence of Ross Ulbricht, operator of Silk Road website, if elected, source says

WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump plans to announce Saturday at the Libertarian National Convention that he intends to commute the life prison sentence of “Silk Road” website operator Ross Ulbricht, according to a source close to the case.

Ulbricht was sentenced to life in federal prison in 2015 for creating and operating a hidden website known as the “Silk Road,” which people used to buy and sell drugs, among other goods and services illegal.

Many libertarians have called for Ulbricht's release. At Saturday's convention, the crowd was filled with “Free Ross” signs and chants in support of Ulbricht.

However, Trump's previous comments about drug dealers conflict with Saturday's planned announcement regarding Ulbricht.

The former president said the death penalty should be instituted for certain drug traffickers, depending on the severity of the crime.

Then-U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara attributed at least six deaths to Ulbricht's actions. Bharara also called Ulbricht a “drug dealer and criminal profiteer.”

“During its operation, Silk Road was used by thousands of drug traffickers and other illegal sellers to distribute hundreds of kilograms of illegal drugs and other illegal goods and services to more than 100,000 buyers and to launder money. hundreds of millions of dollars from these illegal transactions,” said a 2015 Immigration and Customs Enforcement press release announcing Ulbricht’s conviction.

Friday night, the libertarian crowd turned hostile to mentions of Trump, and the audience booed when Vivek Ramaswamy mentioned the former president. Separately, the crowd applauded a Libertarian Party member's suggestion that “we're going to tell Donald Trump to go fuck himself.”

“What he's really trying to do is show that he can be a president for all Americans,” a Trump campaign official said before the former president's remarks. “If you want to compete for nontraditional Republican votes, then you have to go where they are. You can't expect them to come your way.”

The Libertarian National Convention takes place at the Washington Hilton Hotel, Washington.