I'm just shocked it was a full pardon instead of a commutation or something. I don't think the US is gaining a ton from keeping him locked up but he still did run an organization he knew was used for selling drugs and other illegal things and a full pardon for that seems weird. I feel like I mainly heard people talking about commuting his sentence
He built a website. He didn't dictate how people used it. That was the point. He was charged as a drug kingpin with mobster era consequences. His sentence didn't fit whatever crimes he did or didn't commit.
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Is there some reason he should not be allowed to vote, own a firearm, or receive federal benefits?
No one said anything about voting or benefits? That's an entire different discussion.
It's just that, in layman's terms, a pardon means "you did nothing wrong", whereas a commutation means "you did something wrong but were sentenced too harshly". As far as I know that's also what it more or less means legally (with some nuance).
I'm absolutely not a fan of "tough on crime" sentencing, but he absolutely did do something wrong, even if we ignore the contended "murder for hire" claims he should have been sent to prison for a number of years (personally, I'd say about 5-10 years). This is also by Ulbricht's own admission by the way.
Why should he be treated differently then people who committed similar crimes?
He was convicted and the party of law and order typically views these punitive post release measures to be part of the punishment.
Yes. He was convicted of several crimes.
I agree that a commutation would have made much more sense.
But "always make sense" doesn't seem to be in Trumps OKRs...
That's mostly a symbolic difference though. The practical end result is the same