Silk Road Prosecutors Rely on Slander As Trial ApproachesEric Blair What does a prosecutor do when their primary evidence was likely gathered through parallel construction of illegally hacked data, and support for the defendant is gaining whether hes innocent or not? They slander him, of course. Since Silk Road prosecutors have no actual victims to parade in front of the public or the jury to bolster their case against its alleged mastermind, Ross Ulbricht, they have to invent victims by rehashing unsubstantiated claims of murder-for-hire plots. Bloomberg reported today: Yes, you read that right, prosecutors are seeking to use uncharged allegations asevidenceto prosecute other alleged crimes. Talk about weak and desperate. These claims were originally used to slander Ulbricht when he was first apprehended, probably to stifle any potential support for him. Then they were cited by the prosecution to deny Ulbricht bail even though he has no previous criminal record. Next, the charges were mysteriously missing from formal charges. Now, the prosecution wants the public to focus only on them right before the trial begins. Here is the so-called evidence the prosecution provided for these accusations: Lyn Ulbricht, mother of the defendant, gave this response to selfnews Post: Even without these insinuations as formal charges, Ulbricht faces more than 30 years in prison if hes found guilty of the victimless crime of operating a website that allowed people to trade freely and anonymously. In fact, many have pointed out that Silk Road potentially saved countless people from becoming victims of violence and other offenses in the acquisition of prohibited substances. See here, here, here, and here. Additionally, the States official charges against Ulbricht may be much more difficult to prosecute than is being portrayed by the establishment media. The three major charges of drug conspiracy, computer hacking, and money laundering are all problematicdue to the cutting-edge technology involved. Put simply, the deeds of the Silk Roads website administrator, Dread Pirate Roberts, werent quite the same as Al Capones or the Cosa Nostras, but the States attorney is prosecuting the case as if they were. Despite the States best efforts to slander Ulbricht, support continues to grow for his defense. This support is coming from those who oppose the war on drugs, internet freedom advocates, bitcoin users, and libertarians. To quote the defenses largest benefactor, bitcoin entrepreneur Roger Ver,If guilty, hes a hero. If innocent, he needs help. Ver explained this statement in more detail to the CoinTelegraph: Amen to that. In the absence of these baseless murder-for-hire claims, Ulbricht is at worst a harmless technologist whos facing life in prison due to a very unpopular war on drugs. And his case could also have huge implications for data collection and Internet freedom, as Rosss mother recently explained to Reason TV: Clearly, the prosecution is going to tell lies and play dirty. That is why its so important for activists to get involved and support Ross Ulbrichts defense here. More by Eric Blair: Massive Federal Land Grab Hidden In This Years NDAA 