Benzinga - by Maureen Meehan, Benzinga Editor.
In a speech before the Libertarian National Convention on Saturday night where Donald Trump was consistently booed and jeered, the former president promised to commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the online illegal drug marketplace Silk Road.
"And if you vote for me, on Day One, I will commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht," Trump said, moments after mentioning his plans to pardon supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Ulbricht is serving a double life sentence for his role in creating the infamous Silk Road marketplace on the dark web that accepted nearly $1 billion in Bitcoin (BTC) for payments for the sale of heroin, cocaine, LSD and other illegal drugs.
Trump's comments seemed geared toward Libertarian voters who generally support the legalization of all drugs and have long lobbied for the release of Ulbricht. Politico reported that Ulbricht supporters distributed hundreds of black and white signs reading "Free Ross" and "waved them manically in the moments after Trump's announcement."
Libertarians garnered only 1.2% of the national vote in 2020, or about 1.8 million votes, but the 2024 election could be decided by very few votes in several battleground states.
Meanwhile, Trump has called for the death penalty for drug dealers on various occasions, despite having pardoned several people convicted of selling drugs before he left office in January 2021.
Seeking The Libertarian Vote Amid Jeers And Heckling
"It's time to be winners," said Trump when asked rhetorically if third-party delegates wanted to go on getting single-digit protest votes. "I'm asking for the Libertarian Party's endorsement, or at least lots of your votes."He also vowed to "put a Libertarian in my cabinet."
Despite the promises, Trump elicited continuous boos and heckling from the crowd throughout his speech, suggesting the Ulbricht pardon and a cabinet post were not quite enough.
Trump's own supporters were outnumbered by Libertarian delegates who seemed to resent his presence.
A chant of "We Want Trump" was quickly drowned out by "End the Fed!" When Trump called Joe Biden a "threat to democracy," some delegates shouted, "So are you!"
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