Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, creator of the Silk Road

US President Donald Trump has announced that he has signed a full and unconditional pardon for Ross Ulbricht, the Silk Road mastermind behind the dark web marketplace for illegal drugs.

Ulbricht In 2015, he was convicted of drug and money laundering conspiracy in New York and sentenced to life in prison.

Trump tweeted that he had called Ulbricht’s mother to say he had pardoned her daughter.

In the year Silk Road, which was shut down after police arrested Ulbricht in 2013, used bitcoin to sell illegal drugs, as well as hacking tools and stolen passports.

“The crooks who tried to impeach him are the lunatics involved in the modern apparatus of government against me,” Trump wrote in an online post Tuesday evening. “Two life sentences, and 40 years. Ridiculous!”

Ulbricht was found guilty of charges including conspiracy to commit narcotics, money laundering and computer hacking.

During the trial, prosecutors said Ulbricht’s website, hosted on the hidden “dark web”, sold more than $200m (£131m) worth of drugs under his name.

He led the Silk Road under the name Dread Pirate Roberts, a reference to the character in the 1987 film The Princess Bride.

Prosecutors have asked for six murders, including that of a former Silk Road employee, although they say there is no evidence that a murder actually took place.

The Silk Road derives its name from the historic trade routes from Europe, Asia and parts of Africa.

The site gained popularity through media reports and online chat. But users can access the site through Tor – a system that allows people to use the web without revealing who they are or what country they are from.

FBI court documents say the site has fewer than a million registered users, but investigators say they don’t know how active they are.

Ulbricht giving judgment “He was no better than any other drug dealer,” said District Judge Catherine Forrest – who has two college degrees.

She said the position was his “carefully planned life’s work.”

The judge said the lengthy sentence served as a message to copycats that there would be “very serious consequences”.

“I wanted to empower people to make choices in their lives and to have privacy and anonymity,” Ulbricht said in the ruling in May 2015.

In a speech at the Libertarian National Convention last year, Trump hinted at plans to commute Ulbricht’s sentence.

The Libertarian Party has been advocating for Ulbricht’s release and says their case is an example of government overturning.

Republican Congressman Thomas Massey, a Trump ally, praised the president’s decision.

“Thank you for keeping your word to me and others who have been fighting for Ross’s freedom,” the Kentucky lawmaker said.