A petition calling on the White House to release Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the dark web marketplace Silk Road, has gathered more than 275,000 signatures.

FreeRoss.org — an initiative created by a group of Ulbricht’s family, friends and supporters — has said that the momentum continues to grow and that they feel that a solution “could come soon.” 

Through an update on the online petitions website released on March 19, FreeRoss.org claimed Ross is “doing fine”. They have also reported that visits were canceled for 30 days, as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The online petition hopes to reach 300,000 signatures.

Ross not being “treated fairly”

The group of family and friends of Ulbricht assured that the double life sentence without parole is a “miscarriage of justice,” and he was “not treated fairly,” claiming to have the support of more than 200 organizations including many members of the cryptocurrency community.

Additionally, Ulbricht’s supporters accuse the federal investigators of corruption, in addition to prosecutorial misconduct and constitutional violations.

Tim Draper calls for Ulbricht’s release

On December 14, 2019, Cointelegraph reported the words of billionaire investor Tim Draper, who called for the release of the Silk Road founder during an interview with Fred Schebesta of the Crypto Finder video podcast:

“He’s been in jail for a while. Get him out. I cry when my cat goes into a cage, it tears my heart out when these prisoners go into cages.”