Ross Ulbricht is the creator of the darknet site Silk Road, which was used for mass, anonymous drug sales. He operated the site under the alias Dread Pirate Roberts (named after a fictional character in the film The Princess Bride), which he founded in 2011. According to the indictment, Silk Road acquired nearly a million registered users worldwide, about 30% of whom were in the United States.
The courts where Ulbricht was on trial also dealt with contract killings. At the same time, he became a cult figure on the darknet. Ulbricht was the subject of a film called Silk Road (in some translations, «The Antisocial Network»).
The FBI shut down Silk Road in October 2013 and arrested Ulbricht after he allegedly posted his email address online. In February 2015, he was found guilty on a number of charges, including money laundering, drug trafficking, and computer hacking.
Back in May of last year, Donald Trump promised to release Ross Ulbricht during his election campaign.