Daniel Wolfram
Trump is a self-proclaimed opponent of illicit drug use and resale.
Since Richard Nixon took office in 1969, the Republican Party has been synonymous with being the “anti-drug party.”
From the “War on Drugs” military intervention in the US and abroad trying to impose strict drug prohibition laws, to the Nancy Reagan “Just Say No” anti-drug advertising campaigns, the GOP has never been lenient on drug users or illegal drug distributors.
That has seemingly changed after last week’s Republican midterm convention. Here, a convicted felon spoke at Trump-a-Palooza – and praised the guy who helped him out of prison.
Founder of Silk Road praises Trump
Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, which was an anonymous dark web marketplace, was handed a speaking gig at the Republican midterm convention, also known as Trump-a-Palooza.
Here, the convicted felon spoke highly of the president who ultimately pardoned him and spared him a lifetime in prison.
“President Trump felt compassion for me because he too was the target of a weaponized government. He said that if the American people sent him back to the White House, he would free me. The day after he took office, he pardoned me. Thank you, Mr. President,” Ulbricht said from his lectern.
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Ulbricht ended his speech by urging voters to go out and vote Republican in November.
A little background on Ross Ulbricht and Silk Road
As alluded to before, Ross Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison over the creation of the dark web drug site Silk Road.
Here, he operated under the name “Dread Pirate Roberts” from 2011–2013 before the FBI shut down his website and ultimately arrested him at a public library in California.
US Attorney Preet Bharara described Silk Road as a meeting place for people hoping to “buy and sell illegal drugs and other illicit goods and services anonymously and outside the reach of law enforcement.”
The Amazon of drug sites
A former FBI agent has characterized the site as the “Amazon of drug sites.”
“We saw murder-for-hire postings, hacking-for-hire postings, which were, ‘hey, pay me two bitcoin and I’ll hack into your ex-wife or ex-husband’s email account,’” former special agent Milan Patel said to CBS News. “It was totally anonymous. And you could never trace it back to the person who asked for it.”
Trump has touted that his military has killed multiple drug traffickers on boats in the Caribbean, but for one night it was all right for a drug kingpin to speak at Trump’s own convention.
