“Pay attention if you care about due process, Fourth Amendment protections against illegal searches, the limits of government surveillance, and Internet freedom.” ~ Nick Gillespie
The message being sent, and the precedent being set, with the sentencing of Ross Ulbricht is this…
The Law is what strong, wealthy and powerful people say it is; as they have a monopoly on Force. We (the Federal Government) work for those people, and at their whim we will arrest you, presume your guilt, deprive you of a fair trial and sentence you to life in prison without the hope of parole.
Justice is something that is bought and sold, and you can not afford it. You have no individual human rights. You are at the mercy of the wealthy and powerful, as are We.
What I find especially disturbing is the fact that a United States Senator saw fit to trample two basic tenets of our Justice system ~ that ALL are equal under the law, and that all are innocent until proven guilty.
Equal justice under the law and the presumption of innocence is the very foundation of our Criminal Justice System.
U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer appointed himself Judge, Jury and Executioner, deciding for US all that Ross Ulbricht was guilty before the trial even began. 
In an open letter that Schumer wrote to Eric Holder (Attorney General at the helm of Operation “Fast and Furious” in which federal agents secretly facilitated delivery of thousands of weapons to Mexican drug cartels), he proclaimed:
“With your help, the Silk Road was shut down by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2013, and I am pleased that DOJ is currently prosecuting its operator and holding him accountable.”
Schumer must be a real genius, dare I say soothsayer, to be able to know without doubt who is guilty prior to collecting, observing and verifying any substantial evidence whatsoever.
Why do we even need the Criminal Justice System? Why are we employing thousands of people within the Criminal Justice System for something that Chuck Schumer can just invent within the confines of his sage mind?
Apparently all we really need to do is ask Chuck. Perhaps we should allocate tax dollars towards cloning Chuck’s exceptional mind in order to save money in the long run by making his magical insight and snap judgement available to every court system in the country. It could be a useful smartphone app – The Divine Mind of Schumer – for those who wish to make decisions and judgements prior to observing the actual and factual evidence.
“Condemnation without investigation is the height of ignorance.”
Ross Ulbricht is…
- 30 years old
- A first time (alleged, not sufficiently proven in a court of law) offender
- A non-violent (alleged) criminal
- Accused (not proven beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law) of committing victimless crimes
- In prison serving 2 (yes, two) life sentences without parole (this is essentially a death sentence)
This case has been dubbed Chuck Schumer’s case, and for good reason, for just like a dog marking its territory, Chuck has splattered his influence all over it.
Ross was arrested in California, yet the case was transferred to New York; Chuck’s state.
Preet Bharara, instigating prosecutor of this case, served as the chief counsel to Senator Chuck Schumer until President Obama nominated him (with Chuck’s endorsement and full support) to serve in his current position as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
It’s rumored that Bharara is being groomed for Eric Holder’s old job, how fitting. Perhaps Bharara is more concerned with the advancement of his career and being center stage in the spot light, rather than with what is the substantial and evidentiary truth and what is arbitrary political fiction. 
Furthermore, when stinking rich ex-Cravath partner Katherine Forrest was nominated by Obama to fill a judicial seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, it was Chuck Schumer who actively recommended her to the President.
For Judge Forrest, Ross’ is the fourth life sentence she’s doled out this year, and we’re only 6 months in. What’s more, Judge Forrest appears to dispense life sentences lightly, or at least in Ross’ case based on flimsy, unsubstantial evidence and Schumer’s word alone. Perhaps when someone is so instrumental in your coming into power, you become overzealous in your eagerness to please them in return.
According to those present in her court room for Ross’ trial, Judge Forrest consistently and brazenly acted as a dedicated member of the prosecutions team. She did not require the government to prove its case or to provide substantial, verifiable evidence, and she did not allow Ulbricht’s attorneys to present their full defense. 
In fact, Forrest utterly denied Ulbricht’s attorneys the opportunity to present substantial evidence critical to Ross’ defense. In fact, Forrest denied Ross a fair trial. Judge Forrest deserves to be defrocked for her poor judgement and her flagrant abuse of the Criminal Justice System.
What I find equally tragic, is the fact that the Mainstream Media does not see fit to report on these obvious conflicts of interest and egregious violations of an individuals Rights. Apparently the MSM does not deem the complete derailment of the Criminal Justice System as newsworthy.
They call themselves “Investigative Journalists”, and they should be ashamed of themselves for doing so. What they do isn’t investigative journalism, it’s Psittacism; the simple minded parroting of what they are told, being too dumbed down to lose any sleep over the fact that a man’s life hangs in the balance.
The incompetence and impotence of the MSM is astounding.
Here are a few of the lessor understood and reported on facts that were NOT considered by the Jury, but kept hidden far away from the trial and the jury…
- Two undercover Federal Agents were positioned as moles within the Silk Road for at least one year, and possibly up to two years
- The same two Federal Agents had unfettered administrative access to the Silk Road for at least one, and possibly up to two years
- The same two Federal Agents have been charged with money laundering on the Silk Road, in addition to other possible criminal activities
- Department of Homeland Security agent Jared Der-Yeghiayan baited Ross into logging onto the Silk Road, then Federal Agents swooped down on him and arrested him, in a San Francisco public library, for crimes that he may or may not have committed (For those playing at home, this is called ENTRAPMENT)
- Judge Katherine Forrest, in an astoundingly strange maneuver, decided that the fact that the FBI had two moles – who had full administrative access to the Silk Road, who plausibly could have been DPR (or one of several DPR administering/hosting the Silk Road) and who were suspected of, and being investigated for, committing crimes vis a vis the Silk Road – NOT to be relevant and essential to the defense.
- Judge Forrest sealed records that would disclose these facts and kept them far away from the Jury’s perspective
What is comes down to is this – Dread Pirate Roberts (whether that is an individual, or many individuals working in cooperation) created a free market because we don’t have one. A cursory search for the phrase “free trade” yields a history lesson in how Governments monopolize the drug trade in order to subjugate populations.
A truly free market takes money out of the pockets of our Unelected Rulers, which is why they (who have a monopoly on the market) ordered their dogs to go for the jugular.
(Above: Lyn Ulbricht, Ross’ Mother; Below: Ross Ulbricht’s Letter to PorcFest 2015)
Learn more, then share this information.
Visit: FreeRoss.org (Official Legal Defense Fund for the Ulbricht Family)
Watch:
The Real Untold Story Of Government’s Takedown of Silk Road Luke Rudkowski interviews Lyn Ulbricht (Ross Ulbricht’s Mother)
Deep Web film by Alex Winters
Read, review and share:
Ulbricht’s attorney’s statement regarding Silk Road corruption
The Most Important Case In America by Nick Gillespie, Reason Magazine
Prosecutors Won’t Let a Jury See My Interview With Silk Road’s Dread Pirate Roberts by Andy Greeenberg, WIRED
An Interview With A Digital Drug Lord: The Silk Road’s Dread Pirate Roberts by Andy Greenberg, Forbes
Free Ross Ulbricht Now by Lisa Arbercheski, Tragedy and Hope Communications
Agent Was Secretly Investigated During Silk Road Trial – New York Times
Federal Agent Investigating Silk Road Pleads Guilty to Extortion and Money Laundering – Reason Magazine
Was Karpeles DPR? DHS Once Thought So – New York Times
Undercover Silk Road Agent Believed Dread Pirate Roberts (DPR) to Be Mark Karpeles of Mt. Gox
DHS Believed Mt. Gox CEO Might Have Been Silk Road’s Secret Mastermind – WIRED
Bill & Ted & the ‘Deep Web’: Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves Defend the Silk Road’s Ross Ulbricht – The Daily Beast
Eagle Scount. Idealist. Drug Trafficker? – New York Times
The Corporation that Changed the World: How the East India Company Shaped the Modern Multinational (re: “free trade”)
