Convicted Silk Road Owner Ross Ulbricht Sends His First Note From Prison

The alleged mastermind of the Silk Road, Ross Ulbricht, has sent his first note from prison, a handwritten missive posted on FreeRoss.org, a site dedicated to news about the Ulbricht’s case and fundraising for his legal costs.

The letter was sent to the attendees of PorcFest or Porcupine Fest, a “free state” festival focused on cryptocurrencies, alternative viewpoints, and Libertarian ideals.

Ulbricht writes that he is an “eternal optimist” and is still hoping for release by appeal.

Ross-statement-porcfest_edit
“I have confidence that the appeals court will recognize the errors by some and outright corruption by others in the government and give me some sort of remedy. It could be a new trial, where hopefully the whole story can be told or the case could be dismissed altogether,” he wrote.

His lawyers redacted and changed parts of the letter. It reads:

Dear Porcfest,I am writing to you from my cell in New York City. Sorry I couldn’t make it this year. Unfortunately the worst case scenario has played out for me and I’ve been sentenced to spend the rest of my life in prison. I am an eternal optimist though and will never give up hope for my release. I have confidence that the appeals court will recognize the errors by some and outright corruption by others in the government and give me some sort of remedy. It could be a new trial, where hopefully the whole story can be told or the case could be dismissed altogether.In many ways, my struggle is just getting started now that it’s going to the higher courts, so I still need your help. Mounting an effective appeal is not easy. I’m confident in my team, but there’s only so much we can do without your donations. What we can be sure of is that the government will spend as many of your tax dollars as needed to keep me behind bars, so please help however you can.

I hope my story has shed light on some of the issues we face these days. There are many, but please don’t let what’s happened to me lead you to despair. Keep standing for liberty and respect for our rights. Keep fighting for your freedom and evenutally we will win.

Cheers,
Ross

Ulbricht was especially caustic in his mention of the DEA agent who plead guilty to extortion and money laundering during his investigation of his case.