Former President Trump vowed Saturday to commute the prison sentence of Ross Ulbricht, founder of the online drug distribution site Silk Road.
The Republican front-runner made the pledge while speaking at the Libertarian National Convention in Washington, DC, in an attempt to win over skeptical party activists, many of whom held signs reading “Free Ross.”
Republican front-runner Donald Trump speaks at the Libertarian National Convention. (Getty Images)
“If you vote for me, on day one we’re going to commute Ross Ulbricht’s sentence to time served,” Trump said, drawing the biggest cheers of the night. “He’s already served 11 years. We’re going to bring him home.”
Trump considered intervening to secure Ulbricht’s release while he was president, but ultimately abandoned the pardon.
Ulbricht, now 40, was sentenced to life in prison in 2015 by a judge for the deaths of six people and the attempted murder of five others resulting from drugs purchased through his website.
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Ulbricht ran the website from 2011 until his arrest in 2013.
Trump also promised to protect cryptocurrencies by blocking President Biden’s “crypto-destroying efforts.”
“We’re going to stop that. We’re going to make sure that the future of crypto and bitcoin is made in America, not shipped offshore,” Trump said. “I support the right to self-custody. To the 50 million crypto holders in this country, with your vote, I will keep holding crypto in America.” [Senator] Keep Elizabeth Warren and her cohorts out of your Bitcoin, and I will never support the creation of a central bank digital currency.”
Attendees at the Libertarian National Convention in Washington, DC on Saturday hold signs reading “Free Ross” for Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the darknet marketplace Silk Road, who was arrested in 2013 and remains in prison. (Timothy Nerozzi/Fox News Digital)
Trump’s appearance was part of an ongoing effort to reach out to potential supporters in areas that aren’t strongly Republican.
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Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke at the party’s convention on Friday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
