Politics
WATCH: Trump Vows To Pardon Jan 6 Political Prisoners, Silk Road Founder Ross Ulbricht
While speaking at the Libertarian convention in Washington D.C. on Saturday, former President Donald Trump vowed to create a “special task force” in order to pardon January 6 political prisoners as soon as he is declared the winner of November’s election.
“The moment I win the election, I will appoint a special task force to rapidly review the cases of every political prisoner who has been unjustly persecuted by the Biden Administration,” Trump declared. “So that I can sign their pardons or commutations on day one.”
The Biden Department of Justice has charged more than 1,400 Americans in connection with the January 6 Capitol protests. Those arrested are raided by armed FBI teams, shackled, are slandered as “insurrectionists” which causes them to lose their jobs, and ultimately sentenced to federal prison terms for peaceful trespassing.
Scores of peaceful protesters have been sentenced to federal prison terms due to a novel legal theory that draws from the Enron corruption scandal, which is exclusively used against January 6 protesters. Use of the statute is currently being reviewed by the Supreme Court, though D.C. judges and prosecutors have vowed to sentence defendants to harsh prison terms anyway.
While January 6 defendants are charged with the felony statute, in addition to a handful of misdemeanors, the vast majority of left-wing protesters are not even charged when engaging in similar conduct. There has been no four-year manhunt to hunt down trespassers from the 2020 riots — thousands of whom trespassed on federal property — nor has the DOJ hunted pro-Palestine protesters who have stormed the White House, abortion protesters, far-left militants who attacked federal courthouses in 2020, and thousands of other left-wing protesters who have occupied federal buildings and obstructed proceedings.
Trump’s promise to free the January 6 prisoners was well received by the Libertarian crowd, who erupted into chants of “free Ross!”
The crowd was chanting in reference to Ross Ulbricht, a web developer who created the black market site Silk Road, which became a hub for trafficking narcotics and weapons. Ulbricht was arrested in 2013 and ultimately sentenced to life in prison after a judge linked multiple deaths with the site.
His case has become a popular cause among Libertarians, who have argued that the sentence is far too harsh. Critics have also argued that Ulbricht was sentenced for conduct that was not covered in the trial.
After listening to the fierce chants for more than 10 seconds, Trump obliged the crowd and promised to pardon Ulbricht.
“If you vote for me, on day one I will commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, to a sentence of time served,” Trump said, causing the crowd to explode with the loudest cheers of the night. “He’s already served 11 years. We’re going to get him home.”
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