The family of Ross Ulbricht announced on Friday that the founder of the Silk Road online marketplace, who received a life sentence in 2015 for extensive online criminal activities, is set to be released from prison in January. They expressed their gratitude to President-elect Donald Trump for his support. The announcement was made via the @Free_Ross account on X, representing a nonprofit organization that has advocated for Ulbricht’s release since his 2013 arrest. It remains uncertain whether the family’s statement follows recent discussions with Trump after his re-election on Tuesday or if it is based on Trump’s earlier campaign promises to commute Ulbricht’s sentence.

Neither Trump nor the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York has publicly addressed the family’s claim. However, it aligns with Trump’s campaign trail promise to commute Ulbricht’s sentence. Ulbricht, who was 31 at the time of his conviction, faced charges including distributing narcotics, distributing narcotics via the Internet, conspiracy to distribute narcotics, engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, conspiracy to commit computer hacking, conspiracy to traffic in false identity documents, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The #FreeRoss movement has garnered support from Libertarian voters, to whom Trump pledged Ulbricht’s release if elected, during a speech at the party’s national convention in May. Additionally, the cryptocurrency community, which Trump courted during his campaign, has backed the movement, viewing Silk Road as an early application of Bitcoin. Trump’s promise to commute Ulbricht’s sentence would result in his release from the high-security federal prison in Tucson, Arizona, where he is currently incarcerated, though it would not constitute a full pardon or absolution of his crimes.