--- title: "Silk Road Mastermind Ross Ulbricht Seen Leaving Prison Holding a Small Plant" description: "Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht is free after spending over a decade behind bars — and he's taken his little prison plant with him. " date: "2025-01-22" modified: "2025-01-22" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/silk-road-ross-ulbricht-plant" categories: - "Blockchain" - "Future Society" tags: - "bitcoin" - "donald trump" - "ross ulbricht" - "silk road" --- # Silk Road Mastermind Ross Ulbricht Seen Leaving Prison Holding a Small Plant ![Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht is free after spending over a decade behind bars — and he's taken his little prison plant with him. ]() *\Image: yeah and they need to clean the lense on it\* Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht is free after spending over a decade behind bars on [drug and cybercrime charges]() — and he's taking his little prison plant with him. After newly-minted president [Donald Trump pardoned Ulbricht]() from the life sentence he'd been serving, the former darknet kingpin was seen in a photo [posted by his advocates]() in which he was shown leaving prison wearing a grey sweatsuit and a smile. In that same photo the 40-year-old who'd been known as "Dread Pirate Roberts" on the dark web marketplace he founded was also seen holding his effects in a netted bag and a small potted plant — a human touch to Ulbricht's larger-than-life story that [transcends left-right politics](). Speaking of that plant, it seems that Ulbricht made references to a green thumb a few times during the time he served on his double life sentences, with an additional 40 years tacked on to boot. After [starting a Twitter account in 2018]() that involved him [dictating tweets to outsiders]() via phone call, Ulbricht would periodically relay missives from his imprisoned life to his dedicated followers. In one such [communique from 2022](), he shared an animation he'd made that featured a small houseplant that resembles the one he was seen leaving prison with. As he explained in the post, Ulbricht would not end up being able to see the animation — which he [ended up selling]() for a whopping 11.6 Bitcoin, which was worth roughly $1.2 million at the time of its sale — himself. On more than one occasion in 2018 and 2019, the Silk Road mastermind also [made reference]() on his Twitter account to an [apple plant]() he [grew in wet tissue]() from leftover seeds. He named the plant "SHUbert" after the "Special Housing Unit" where he claimed to have served over 100 days in solitary confinement — though unfortunately, that [plant didn't make it out with him](). Because this is a crypto-infused story, it wouldn't be complete without someone [making a meme coin]() for the plant called, fittingly, $ROSSPLANT. **More on the Trump crypto sphere:** [*Gullible Trump Supporters Lose Millions on Fake $BARRON Meme Coin*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()