Silk Road Seized - Dread Pirate Roberts Arrested

[Renegade]

I hate roads.

[Renegade]

DPR is enjoying a nice cup of STFU.

https://twitter.com/...s/386178542926434304

Jackson West
‏@jacksonwest
Public Defender Brandon LeBlanc denies all charges, but will not discuss case. Ulbricht will not be taking interviews. #silkroadbust

[40hz]

^Smart attorney. If 1/10th of the allegations are provable in court, he's got a lot of downside facing him.

Best remain silent even though some recent cases show that our supposed guaranteed "right to remain silent" is being challenged and finessed by clueless judges and devious prosecutors deep in the Heart of Darkest Amerika (i.e. Texas.) Are we at all surprised?.
More here and here.

[TaoPhoenix]

I hate roads.

-Renegade (October 05, 2013, 12:05 AM)

So does Doc Brown!
http://www.youtube.c.../watch?v=flge_rw6RG0

[Renegade]

And so the feds have only stoked the fires of substance freedom.

http://techcrunch.co...aunch-silk-road-2-0/

Deep Web Users Are Ready To Launch Silk Road 2.0

In an interesting post-mortem release by the creators of the defunct anonymous marketplace Atlantis there is information that the former admins and users of the Silk Road are planning to resurrect the service. User RR writes: “We have SilkRoad v2.0 ready to launch and is now in its final testing stages. Our site has all the features of the original one and we have kept the same style of forum for your ease.”

More at the link.

Atlantis post here:

http://atlantisblog....-released-a-monster/

Silk Road Subdued But This Ex-Black-Market Employee Believes Feds Only Woke A Monster

So the gig is up, My two favorite Drug dealers have been taken down in the space of a week, Christopher Tarbell is now the mystery agent who infiltrated Silk Road and can add Dread Pirate Roberts to his list of take-downs which include “Sabu” of Anonymous.

While other sites ramp up server capacity to meet demand and I watch the number of listings on alternative marketplaces such as Sheep and Black Market Reloaded increase at an exponential rate, (Sheep has gone from 500 Drug listings to over 1500 as I write) I can’t help but get the feeling DPR would be relatively happy with the results of his self-professed “economic simulation” as his legion of vendors and customers scramble to re-establish contact on other marketplaces.

There’s also a hint of Karma in the air too, had the Admins behind the failed Silk Road alternative “Atlantis” kept the site alive just two more weeks they’d be swimming in a sea of bitcoins Scrooge McDuck style right now but given the allegations of ex black marketplace employees having hits put out on them maybe I’ll tone down on the criticism and just be glad I was never on the inside.

More at the link.

And BitWasp here (online BTC marketplace):

https://github.com/Bit-Wasp/BitWasp

It's still not completely ready, but it's in the works.

[Renegade]

Interview with Ross:

http://www.modernlux...dread-pirate-roberts

[Renegade]

A list of darknet markets:

http://pastebin.com/sJ5mDGxm

Black Market Reloaded gets slagged for its design all the time, but there are quite a few vendors with a lot of different products, and a lot that you might not expect. e.g. You can get weapons, fireworks, alcohol, tobacco, etc. And drugs.

[Renegade]

Fair warning: Fire up your super-powers of not-pants-pissing because you're going to need them.

 

I hate that song, but this somehow makes it ok.

[Renegade]

Just when you thought it was gone...

From the Silk Road 2.0 forums (no drugs or anything there - it's purely a forum - running the same forum software as DC):

http://silkroad5v7dy...dex.php?topic=2175.0

Dread Pirate Roberts

    Administrator
    *****
    Posts: 256
    Karma: +127/-8
        View Profile

WE RISE AGAIN
« on: Yesterday at 02:52:31 pm »
Dear Community

It is with great joy that I announce the next chapter of our journey. Silk Road has risen from the ashes, and is now ready and waiting for you all to return home: http://silkroad6ownowfk.onion

Welcome back to freedom.

Over the last 4 weeks, we have implemented a complete security overhaul. This overhaul marks the dawn of a brand new era for hidden services, and it would not have been possible without the patient support of this community. So for waiting patiently; for offering encouragement; for keeping the community spirit alive in Silk Road’s temporary absence; for all of this and more, each of you has my deepest and most sincere gratitude.

It took the FBI two and a half years to do what they did. Divide, conquer and eliminate was their strategy… but four weeks of temporary silence is all they got. And as our resilient community bounces back even stronger than ever before, never forget that they can only ever seize assets – they can never arrest our spirit, our ideas or our passion, unless we let them.

We will not let them.

Please enjoy the marketplace, but be aware – although the site is both functional and stable, we are still in the early phases of development. Despite us having worked through any major bugs that might prevent full-functionality or compromise security, you may notice minor bugs. Please bring these to our attention. More so, even though security has been our top priority over the last few weeks, we encourage you to continue reporting both theoretical and even proven exploits. You will be rewarded for doing so.

Please also be aware, that because we expect a large surge in Bitcoin deposits when we open up our transaction system, there may be delays with account withdrawals and deposits initially. These delays should become less as the marketplace settles, but at least for the earlier stages, please do not report coins as missing unless 12 hours or more have elapsed.

You might also notice that the re-launched marketplace lacks a number of features from the original marketplace – we will be working hard over the next few weeks to implement improvements, and we continue to study each and every post made in the Feature Requests forum. Your opinions matter to us, and we will not neglect the thoughts of the community.

We are proud to announce though, that our new security measures include emergency strategies to ensure that, in the event of Silk Road’s demise once more, no member will lose their coins. We have learned hard lessons from the unfortunate events of recent weeks, and the man hours that have gone into this new release are phenomenal. We look forward to helping Silk Road grow on the back of these lessons, and look forward to helping this community flourish even more beautifully than before.

We have already committed a large percentage of our revenues to good causes, charities, and organizations who support our cause or have similar interests. We are also contributing back to the Tor network with our relay fund.

But without a doubt, the re-launch of our beloved marketplace will create a ripple throughout the world’s various media channels, and not all of these channels will see our cause as positive. You don’t need telling that there are very powerful media outlets controlled by various world governments, who will seek to muddy our name and reputation. But it is up to us to embrace this newfound exposure in mainstream media, rather than hide from it – and for this reason, I have chosen to speak briefly with a number of journalists who I am confident will report this memorable day without the pull of governmental strings. I have also conducted an exclusive interview with Mashable. In light of the FBI’s recent ‘victory’, it would be impossible for Silk Road to stay off the radar – it is therefore our responsibility to make sure that our mark on the radar is the right one. So I would advise you all to prepare yourself for a spike in media attention, and to review your personal security measures to ensure your anonymity is protected.

We will be hiring staff to handle Silk Road’s marketing shortly – formal offers may be made to members who have already demonstrated their marketing prowess.

And it goes without saying that if you are in touch with anybody who may not be aware that Silk Road has risen once more, now is the time to spread the word. Open communication with your old suppliers and customers; let this wonderful news be taken to all corners of the Tor network and beyond.

Let us never forget this recent hurdle in our battle for freedom. But let us not allow it to stop our fight, either – it is now time to simply pick ourselves back up, dust ourselves off, and continue fighting this revolution like we’ve never fought it before.

I’m proud to have you all at my side.

Yours Loyally

Dread Pirate Roberts
Please do not message me unless it is absolutely required.

Quote 13: The enemies of freedom do not argue; they shout and they shoot.

silkroad6ownowfk.onion

Whack-a-mole?

[40hz]

Hmm...honeypot?

Caveat fratribus as the old saying goes. At least for the time being.

[Stoic Joker]

^Caution does seem prudent about now.

[40hz]

^Caution does seem prudent about now.

-Stoic Joker (November 07, 2013, 11:49 AM)

Yup!

There's an old Russian proverb that roughly translates as saying: Whenever four men meet in secret to plot to overthrow the Czar, three are damn fools - and the fourth is Okhrana (i.e. Imperial Secret Police).
 

[Renegade]

And the case heats up...

http://freeross.org/...of-reply-memorandum/

Ross Ulbricht’s attorney Joshua Dratel submitted a reply to the prosecution on May 27 (full document below) supporting his pretrial motions and illustrating the fundamental deficiencies in the government’s arguments. Here are some key points.

More at the link.

The defence has a very strong case there. It will be hard for the prosecutors to get through that, but, we all know what will still happen...

[40hz]

It will be hard for the prosecutors to get through that

-Renegade (May 28, 2014, 07:19 PM)

Assuming they don't get a sympathetic judge...

[Renegade]

It will be hard for the prosecutors to get through that

-Renegade (May 28, 2014, 07:19 PM)

Assuming they don't get a sympathetic judge...

-40hz (May 28, 2014, 09:46 PM)

Yup. Like I said, we already know how it's going to end. It's a foregone conclusion. The question is whether he'll survive long enough for an appeal in the dark hole he'll be thrown into.

[Renegade]

Ross' lawyer is arguing 4th amendment violations:

http://www.wired.com...creator-tells-court/

In a pre-trial motion filed in the case late Friday night, Ulbricht’s lawyers laid out a series of arguments to dismiss all charges in the case based on Ulbricht’s fourth amendment protections against warrantless searches of his digital property. As early as the FBI’s initial discovery of servers in Iceland hosting the site on the Tor anonymity network—seemingly without obtaining a search warrant from a judge—Ulbricht argues that law enforcement violated his constitutional right to privacy, tainting all further evidence against him dug up in the investigation that followed.

[Renegade]

And Coindesk on the issue:

http://www.coindesk....es-fourth-amendment/

Ross Ulbricht’s defence team has filed a new pre-trial motion calling on the court to dismiss charges in the Silk Road case on the grounds of Fourth Amendment privacy protections.

It will be interesting to see how the judge tries to wiggle out of that.

[40hz]

It will be interesting to see how the judge tries to wiggle out of that.

-Renegade (August 05, 2014, 10:36 AM)

Judges don't wriggle. They issue rulings. And when in doubt, they rule as they deem best and let the higher courts deal with any technical (Court of Appeals) or larger constitutional (SCOTUS) issues if they come up. Many times those higher courts decline to rule on (CoA) or even hear (SCOTUS) the case. More often than not, the ruling of the lower court is affirmed on appeal anyway. On those fairly rare occasions when a lower court is overruled by a higher court, it generally only results in the case being sent back to the lower court for a new trial. It's not a "get out of jail free" card. The circuit courts conduct trials. The CoA and SCOTUS don't try cases. Or dismiss them. They serve more as the US legal system's quality control department.

So barring Ulbricht's motion coming before an extremely sympathetic judge, it will most likely be dismissed with little comment. (Yes, US judges can do that.)

Despite what you see on TV shows, most US judges are extremely loathe to dismiss serious charges (especially when subsequent corroborating evidence backs up the substance of the charges made) on purely technical grounds. At least for anything other than a case where the strong chance of capital punishment is on the menu.

[Renegade]

So barring Ulbricht's motion coming before an extremely sympathetic judge, it will most likely be dismissed with little comment. (Yes, US judges can do that.)

-40hz (August 05, 2014, 02:01 PM)

You think his 4th amendment argument will work?

[40hz]

So barring Ulbricht's motion coming before an extremely sympathetic judge, it will most likely be dismissed with little comment. (Yes, US judges can do that.)

-40hz (August 05, 2014, 02:01 PM)

You think his 4th amendment argument will work?

-Renegade (August 05, 2014, 07:56 PM)

Not really. Maybe for some of the evidence. But that's a long shot. And certainly not for all the evidence.

But I'm not an attorney - so who knows?

[Renegade]

So barring Ulbricht's motion coming before an extremely sympathetic judge, it will most likely be dismissed with little comment. (Yes, US judges can do that.)

-40hz (August 05, 2014, 02:01 PM)

You think his 4th amendment argument will work?

-Renegade (August 05, 2014, 07:56 PM)

Not really. Maybe for some of the evidence. But that's a long shot. And certainly not for all the evidence.

But I'm not an attorney - so who knows?

-40hz (August 05, 2014, 09:06 PM)

Got it. For a bit there I thought you were saying that it would work.

My guess is that nothing short of divine intervention will help Ross. The evidence doesn't matter. The law doesn't matter. He is hated, and that's reason enough to punish him.

[wraith808]

So barring Ulbricht's motion coming before an extremely sympathetic judge, it will most likely be dismissed with little comment. (Yes, US judges can do that.)

-40hz (August 05, 2014, 02:01 PM)

You think his 4th amendment argument will work?

-Renegade (August 05, 2014, 07:56 PM)

Not really. Maybe for some of the evidence. But that's a long shot. And certainly not for all the evidence.

But I'm not an attorney - so who knows?

-40hz (August 05, 2014, 09:06 PM)

Got it. For a bit there I thought you were saying that it would work.

My guess is that nothing short of divine intervention will help Ross. The evidence doesn't matter. The law doesn't matter. He is hated, and that's reason enough to punish him.

-Renegade (August 05, 2014, 09:53 PM)

Or the selection of the right attorney that knows the right judge.  And that's a fact.

[40hz]

So barring Ulbricht's motion coming before an extremely sympathetic judge, it will most likely be dismissed with little comment. (Yes, US judges can do that.)

-40hz (August 05, 2014, 02:01 PM)

You think his 4th amendment argument will work?

-Renegade (August 05, 2014, 07:56 PM)

Not really. Maybe for some of the evidence. But that's a long shot. And certainly not for all the evidence.

But I'm not an attorney - so who knows?

-40hz (August 05, 2014, 09:06 PM)

Got it. For a bit there I thought you were saying that it would work.

My guess is that nothing short of divine intervention will help Ross. The evidence doesn't matter. The law doesn't matter. He is hated, and that's reason enough to punish him.

-Renegade (August 05, 2014, 09:53 PM)

Or the selection of the right attorney that knows the right judge.  And that's a fact.

-wraith808 (August 06, 2014, 10:45 AM)

In many other criminal cases, possibly/probably.

But not this one.

I think the whole Silk Road thing has gone too high up the flagpole that an attorney "knowing the right judge" is going to help much. There's too many eyes on it - and far too much at stake for the government (which wants to make an example) - for this case to be another "business as usual" criminal proceeding.

[40hz]

Mike over at TechDirt weighs in and has reached much the same conclusions I have. But since he writes so much better than I do, I'll just quote the article:

The argument, not surprisingly, is relying on the new Supreme Court ruling in the Riley / Wurie cases, about the need for a warrant to search mobile phones. That is an important ruling bringing back certain 4th Amendment protections, but Ulbricht's lawyers are really trying to stretch it to argue that it applies to the warrants issued against him.

There may be some real issues in how the feds got access to the Silk Road servers, but to claim that other searches (and even actual warrants) were unconstitutional in light of Riley would require an almost ridiculously broad reading of the Riley ruling. That case involved searches of mobile phones that were on someone's person -- not a coordinated effort to track down someone they believed to be a criminal.

I do think there are some real issues with the case against Ulbricht, mainly focused on his liability for the actions done by users of Silk Road, but these kinds of broad attempts to throw anything at the wall are likely to be rejected, and can actually piss off judges who feel that lawyers are just trying to throw up a smoke screen.

There are important cases to be had in challenging various digital searches and how the 4th Amendment applies to them, but it's doubtful that this is a particularly good test case.

[Renegade]

You highlighted the perfect bit there.

I do think there are some real issues with the case against Ulbricht, mainly focused on his liability for the actions done by users of Silk Road, but these kinds of broad attempts to throw anything at the wall are likely to be rejected, and can actually piss off judges who feel that lawyers are just trying to throw up a smoke screen.

Why is that? Because judges don't care about any of the laws that are supposed to restrict how the government can behave. Prosecutors and LEOs even less.

Fact is, if they didn't have their ducks in a row, then tough. Throw the case out.

Those limits placed on what government can do are there for a reason. They are what (ostensibly) separate the republic from an authoritarian police state.

I think we know pretty darn well what will happen. Due process is a joke.



Image source. (Illustration for Canadian Lawyer magazine, August 2008 issue.)