Silk Road, Online Freedom, and Why the Prosecution of Ross Ulbricht Should Worry Us All
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- "I am fighting for my son," says Lyn Ulbricht, the mother of 30-year-old Ross Ulbricht, who faces life in prison as the alleged creator and operator of "Silk Road," an illicit online marketplace that was shut down by the feds last year. "But [this fight] is bigger than Ross, and I think one website is far less dangerous than the government trampling on our rule of law and the consitution."
Ulbricht sat down with Reason TV's Nick Gillespie to talk about why she believes the government's case against Ross broadly violates his constitutional rights and threatens online freedom.
For more on Ross Ulbricht and the government's case against Silk Road, read Brian Doherty's feature story in the December 2014 issue of Reason magazine, "How Buying Drugs Online Became Safe, Easy, and Boring:" goo.gl/eRjtJh
Shot and edited by Jim Epstein; additional camera Anthony L. Fisher.
About 22 minutes.
Go to reason.com/reas... for downloadable versions and subscribe to Reason TV's TH-cam Channel to get automatic updates when new material goes live.
He has a smart Mom.
SpookeyClown No just naive.. as a mom it dosent matter what her son did.. he could have hypothetically killed an entire school room full of children and his mom would have taken his side..
SpookeyClown He has a delusional mom. She loves him dearly, that much is obvious. But she does want to see that her son turned into a drug dealer peddling $1.2 bln in illegal blackmarket narcotics. Those are undisputable facts and Lyn Ulbricht ignores them because she loves her son so much. We all would be the same, we love our kids. But sometimes love blinds us from the truth.
David S I completely picked up on her mother bird defense during this interview, but she is still smart in her explanations of the injustice legal standing on what he has done and the questionable morality behind those laws. Like I don't think anyone should be arrested and jailed for drug related crimes (much less for running a market for buyers / sellers) , but obviously the US government does.
+adfsdfsdfsdf sdfsdfsdfsdfsdf Did you watch and understand any of the video? The message is that the LAW is BROKEN... There are unreasonable charges that can be charged as a "deferred intent" (causing a party to be tried in Federal Court for the often-unsupervisable activities of customers or users of your service).
I have an example that catches the issue here: A seller on eBay sells a mysterious "custom" listing on the service, (even perhaps listed as a controlled drug), leads to the arrest of the directors of eBay's operators who always have limits to their control of content that is managed by millions of others on their platform.
The case mentioned is dismissable and laughable by most - however, as mentioned by Lyn in this video, an act that protects citizens and corporations from such prosecutions, does not exempt them from prosecution of this "deferred intent" in the event of a Federal trial in the United States.
So it seems independence of state is opposed by the feds, who hypocritically legislate, enforce and act on the very same precedent. The government and exponentially-funded, grossly counter-productive law enforcement agencies in the United States are an embarassment to the citizens of the US and the enemy government will soon launch what it foresaw in it's disarmament stand on gun control. People now oppose the government more than ever, unless you buy the "ALL privacy revoked to save us from terrorism" - A terrorist act in itself, and a more despicable one if you ask me. I see a near future of domestic terrorism aimed at the government in resistence to it's oppressive criminal establishment. Fucking "leaders" of our world - wonderful. smh
+adfsdfsdfsdf sdfsdfsdfsdfsdf you need to calm down there man before you get an ulcer or suffer a heart attack.
God!!!! you can clearly see the sadness in that woman's eyes. And that was even BEFORE the sentence of life in prison. My prayers and thoughts are with Mr. ulbricht and his struggling family......
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Trump pardoned Ross today, January 21, 2025🎉
After 10 long years, Lyn's fight has borne fruit. Ross is pardoned and released.
Wishlist for upcoming Ross biopic:
Robert Pattinson - Ross Ulbricht
Julia Roberts - Lyn Ulbricht
Parallel storylines on Silk Road, BTC, Trump's reelection and signing the pardon. Someone go write a sizzling script quick!
You do correct waiting for the movie
I feel for Ulbricht's mom, but this was a layup for the prosecution. Dude kept a journal and chat logs of everything...his sentence was the least surprising thing ever.
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Where in the constitution does it grant power to the US government to police the PRIVATE lives of EVERYBODY?
Jim Man
And "Domestic enemies" in my opinion. Just what is the definition of "homegrown terrorist"?
Or "enemy combatant" for that matter?
Jim Man
Exactly.
My point being, our military are in the wrong country(ies), fighting the wrong enemy(s) of Freedom and Democracy. AND, taking orders from a fraud not eligible for the office of "commander in chief". Now, THAT'S treason. And sad as hell.
joe banana The worst of it is all uniformed people have to swear an oath to the Constitution and the law. Yet nothing happens. The military should take over, set up tribunals to try traitors, Execute them by firing squad or hanging. Obeying an illegal order is a crime. If the person giving the order doesn't rescind, he is to be arrested. That's the law according to the Uniform Code of Military Justice .Look it up.
joe banana Nowhere, they HAVE TO have a warrant!
*****
Don't forget "due process".
"The rule of law, in complex times, has proved itself deficient / We much prefer the rule of men--it's vastly more efficient!" -R.W. Grant
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She's smart it's a pleasant change from what we're normally exposed to in the media, any media. I don't suppose national US TV has had her on.
I was unfortunately because of my imprisonment had the privilege of meeting Ross when he arrived at MDC Brooklyn and I can honestly say he was a very respectful very humble and I was one of his students in the yoga class he would teach
Id love to meet him and pick his brain
He's my hero, I hope one day I will be able to fund Internet 2.0, decentralized web hosting.
Omg what was he like? What did he say?
Where Ulbricht screwed up, is that the site allowed people to engage in illegal transactions in which it is obvious that they are illegal transactions. For example, in my home state pot growing used to be illegal. There were horticultural lighting shops. And the largest percentage of customers were pot growers, and they knew it. But if someone came in a said "I'm going to grow pot, and make a lot of money." they would tell him to leave and don't come back. Since in that case they would knowingly be aiding in the commission of a crime, and they would be open to prosecution like this guy. Only Silk Road was much worse--people were using it to solicit murder.
This video talks about constitutional defenses and protections. Those are all but gone. We live in a society where there are so many laws and interpretations of those laws that defendants must rely not on governing constitutional boundaries established to protect individual rights, but sympathetic judges and juries which is, at best, a random crap shoot. And when the government brings a case - any case - against a defendant, no matter how vacuous or inept the merits of that case may be, the attorneys on both sides win and the defendant loses - time, money, and stress. Until there is a significant penalty for federal prosecutors who present a case which is struck down as unconstitutional (for feds get paid the same win, lose, or draw), these prosecutors need only use the cumbersome, costly, ham-fisted legal process to punish whomever they wish.
It's all just words on paper that I never agreed to or signed my name to. The constitution that is.
SweetLiberty01 This wasn't a random crap shoot.. he had no chance of winning.. The FBI would have poured millions of dollars into this case and years of planning.. they aren't going to thrown all that work away and risk a lawsuit for false arrest.. They know what is at stake here. They also know this case will be watched closely so they would have done everything by the book.. there is no chance they would even try to present a case that would be struck down as unconstitutional
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Holy hell is she well-spoken.
I'm curious... If this case succeeds, does that make the US government complicit and liable for illicit and illegal activity within the borders of the US? It would seem that they are the appointed and elected proprietors of this nation, and would be legally open to prosecution for any and all crimes committed within these borders.
Plot twist, Lyn Ulbricht is actually Dread Pirate Roberts
Thank You President Trump. Freedom for the wrongly accused. Ross is innocent.
What made you do a 180 on this case? The right never cared about Ross until now
This case is really a national security issue because of the high potential of death from using the drugs.
Amazing speech by Lyn Ulbricht. Should be heard by 100 millions.
I feel for you Lyn as his mother. I hope for positive things for you and your son. IMO the gov is trampling.
I do understand her feelings as his mother I’d expect my mother to back me up also but he crossed the line more than once
I am years behind this story, but from what I read and understand. The fact that there were several feds involved should have gotten this case dismissed. Who's to say they were the ones causing havoc.
Surprise, surprise, they made an example out of him. Does this set president now? Are all other website hosts going be be held accountable for how people use their site? I feel really badly for the whole Ulbricht family. It could be years before he wins an appeal.
No Lie He got life imprisoment.. he probably isn't getting out ever
Fkn horrible. I hope you're wrong!
No Lie Nope that is exactly what happened . he was sentenced recently. here is the news article confirming this
www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2410836/silk-roads-dread-pirate-roberts-sentenced-to-life-in-prison
Anyway if you are too lazy to click the link it says
SILK ROAD FOUNDER Ross Ulbricht has been sentenced to life in prison after a US judge served him the maximum possible sentence.Ulbricht, perhaps better known as Dread Pirate Roberts, @2393841.These included distributing narcotics by means of the internet, conspiring to distribute narcotics and engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise.The 31-year-old was handed the sentence on Friday by judge Katherine Forrest of Manhattan's US district court for the southern district of New York. She sentenced Ulbricht to life in prison without the possibility of parole, meaning that he will serve a minimum of 20 years.
ON top of that apparently he owes the government 184 million
The article continues
' *Motherboard reports that the judge denied Ulbricht's request for a lower security prison, and told him that he owes the government $184m, the total of drug and fake ID sales documented in Silk Road records.* '
Thanks for the link, bro! I'll check it out. You know, I understand Mr Ulbricht knew what was happening on his site, obviously. But this whole war on drugs thing is bullsh*t.
No Lie They won't win an appeal. The evidence against Ross is overwhelming. The court proceedings were proper. The jury made no mistakes (that we know of). Ross will remain imprisoned for life, just like any other drug mogul. People who think Ross has a chance of getting out because his crimes were conducted from a laptop rather than on the street are deluding themselves. Ross should get treated EXACTLY the same in a court of justice like any other drug dealer. And that's all he is! A drug dealer, who thought he can game the system.
So Ross took a traditionally very dangerous activity -- drug distribution and transfer and put it online amazon style. How many people would've died from face to face dealings gone wrong? How many people would've died from impure drugs, which are much less likely when vendors are held accountable through customer reviews.
As I see it Ross probably prevented dozens if not hundreds of lives from being lost.
deadbeathero Not true.. there was a case in Australia paper of a guy who died from drugs bough on silk road.
+badpanda84 And how many people die from drugs brought on the street? You have no logic
TehAwesomeBro Actually in Australia not that many.. might be different in the US.
Its rare enough that when it happens it actually makes the news.
+badpanda84 Im sure people die over the darknet but in the US, there are tens of thousands of deaths per year due to impure drugs, face-to-face drug deals, and simply peopke who sell fake drugs, which is unneccessary on the deep web because you are virtually anonymous
Lol you’re as stupid as he is then
read comments here there is hope in humanity. Actually people are much better informed than what I thought. I think government aggression, not just USA, worldwide, will end, and it will end soon, and we will have a real form of unfiltered democracy that comes directly from the people. Really inspiring stuff.
His mom slammed this interview! He didnt go down for the murder charges bc they were unsure who else had access to the account. They were just aware he was which is unfair for the sentence he has. His mom is brilliant as well. Had she suggested the 10 yr plea hed be out by now.
"Launch a nuclear attack by whistling into a phone."
Ross is free!
Nope
@@d.bcooper2271 wdym?
So i'm trying to understand the logic in this case. Ross hosted a website, drugs were exchanged on that site. so the logic is, it's ross' fault for what ever happens on that site right??
By that logic:
if i buy drugs using my cell phone, is the cell phone company responsible for what happens cause they are "hosting" the network??
same goes for say Xbox live, should microsoft be responsible because they are "hosting" xbox live? or psn (sony) (see a pattern here?)
and if i buy drugs in the street is the government responsible because they are "hosting" the town/city??
it just dosen't make sence to me.
It's about intent. If the phone company takes a cut from the drugmoney and ensuring a safe transaction when you buy then yes, the phone company is helping you buy and sell drugs and the responsible people would go to jail.
Es difícil saber perder. es momento de aprenderlo, su hijo ya era un hombre se supone maduro y tomó el camino más pendejo que alguien podría tomar.
Just let me say this....WTFrak Suppose a user hosts a site, and on the site the material is not legal under a state law. You see how this can go downhill fast?
*COMING SOON!*
ReasonTV interviews Charles Manson's mom:
_"Charlie was a sweet, sweet boy. All he wanted was to be a rock 'n' roll star. Then the government drove him insane!"_
Woosh, that's the sound of the point going right over your head.
Clever! Did you just make that up?
_Whoosh!_
Ha! I'm going to steal that one!
Ross was railroaded pure and simple. The objective to appease the fear of the ignorant masses. All these commenters are so ignorant of the facts. Ross did not sell anything. He created a format that allowed people to do what they are going to do anyway the exception being that format enabled them to do it in a more safe and harmless manner. I am not saying what they are doing is safe and harmless. I am saying LESS dangerous and LESS harmful.Human nature (especially the lower minded) tend to blindly draw negative conclusions based on pure conjecture instead of facts about matters they do not fully understand. The case of Ross Ulbricht is a great example of the pervasive ignorance of the masses.
If he does get sentenced, someone else will have to take over as the Dread Pirate Roberts, after all everyone knows its the name thats important.
Craigslist?
I have little sympathy for Ms. Ulbricht here. Her son was flagrantly breaking the law as a drug trafficker and he got caught. End of story. Go sit down in a corner.
It is pretty sad that we have come to this.
I think after listening to her Ross would have been better off with his mother as council
Does the mom seriously think that people would believe his son is innocent, just because he is white and she is smart?
Wow it took the interviewer 29 minutes to ask a decent question. What a tool. Leave the outer banks
Terrorists use mobile phones networks for communication. Does this mean that the telecom companies should be responsible for these activities? Hmm..
They use more than that. Multiple social networking websites etc.
May Ross rot in jail for the rest of your days, even that will not undo any of the wrong you did and allowed others to do and harm many innocent and naive persons, no pardon, no excuse, just lock him and disappear the key.
In the land of the free a #pirate captured faces the wrath of powers that be for “How dare he molest the web.” subtracting from the monopolies of the liberators to “ molest the whole world,” “Because he does it with a little site only, he is called a pirate; they, doing it with great continents, are called #liberator s ”. Sefra Correa Marielyn Correa Wilson Correa
Did he not try to have someone killed???
thats the part of this case that remains a mystery, someone with the DPR hired 6 hits, but they were all scams so no-one died. A few ppl it seems had access to the DPR account an investigator, possibly the mount gox exchange owner and Ross. DPR does stand for more of pseudonym that can be passed down among multiple users so it kind of makes sense it was used by more than one person over time as the original one was 'Silk Road admin'. I did quite a lot of research into it as I am really fascinated by unusual crimes and it was highly inconclusive, I don't even have an option on it.
Smart Mom
BRUH, it's his fault for drug trafficking
hoffman's bike i took too much I might be paid lol
He is a kind of the Breaking Bad. Too bad so sad;(
Wow, 22 minutes of bullshit. Her son is guilty, a 10 year old would understand that. And NO, if someone "internet hate" on someone or sell drugs in the comment section of your blog about kitties you will 100% NOT get charged.
The law enforcement are not dumb you know
sugarpuffextreme 10 year olds do not enforce law . but the judgement hear with bring the flies into the land of the free lords !
liberty is on the way
Ross is guilty for sure, even though no real contracted hits occurred the guy was a drug dealer on an unbelievable scale.
What about when Ross hired a hit man?
Two, actually, but they can't bash him completely for that since they (hitmen) were cops selling their "skills."
Basically what I'm saying is the Law Enforcement gets some bashing ;)
sound more and more everyday like a police state!
All drugs shall run through Tel Aviv, we want all the money to flow from the sale of drugs right back to us here. It's all about who wants to control everything we do.
* Is defendants mom and doesn't know much about law, the case, or what went on silk road* yet talks about son being not guilty. -_-
#freerossulbricht
Ross deserves his sentence and more. He took money from every drug-transaction that took place on his website. He ordered murders and allowed the selling of guns.
You can't compare Silk Road and his responsibility with a online-forum where some prostitution might take place without the owner of the site's knowledge. If the owner has knowledge and takes a cut then yes, you can compare and the owner of the forum is a pimp.
You wouldn't throw the CEO of DHL/UPS in jail for delivering, without knowledge, drugs to people and coutries. You would, how ever, throw the guy who flies a Cesna filled with drugs from Columbia to Florida.
I hope he never sees the day of light.
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They seemed to miss the murder charge.
Fuck... this case is fucked up.
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He was charged with continuing a criminal enterprise, the most serious one out of the few things he's charged with. And he profited from it. If he was gonna be so stupid to put his own personal email on a forum and get caught AND still live in the US, its his own fault. Could've easily gotten away with it, but his own stupidity lead to his arrest.
Great vid
Free ma Nigga DPR
But in reality he knew that everything illegal was going to be "openly traded" unfair sentencing? Yes is he innocent? No.
Dross
super mom
Very attractive lady.
It's a shame her son chose a path of crime
Brock Steel yes which she condoned
I wonder how much she may have socked away