The Department of Justice is ordering a blog to turn over the names of six registered members who threatened the life of the federal judge who sent an online drug market Founder to prison for life.
The comments were left in a blog post published on May 31st on Reason.con covering the trial of online drug Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht.
Judge Katherine Forrest sentenced Ulbricht to two life sentences for selling illegal narcotics and other designer drugs to teenagers without prescription.
The commenters discussed a plaintive letter Ulbricht wrote to the judge pleading for a lighter sentence so he won't die an old man in prison.
“It’s judges like these that should be taken out back and shot,” wrote one of the commenters.
Another user wrote "It’s judges like these that will be taken out back and shot. FTFY [fixed that for you].”
The blog Popehat got ahold of the grand jury subpoena issued by the Justice Department demanding all "identifying information” pertaining to the commenters including their names, email addresses, IP addresses, and telephone number associated with their accounts.
According to the subpoena, representatives from the Reason.com were compelled to appear in a New York court Tuesday at 10 AM ET if it did not produce the requested documents before then. It is unclear if they appeared in court or gave upany information they might have about users, as Reason.com declined Motherboard’s request for comment.
In his letter to the judge, Ulbricht wrote, "If I do make it out of prison, decades from now, I won?t be the same man, and the world won’t be the same place… In fact, I’ll be an old man, at least 50, with the additional wear and tear prison life brings… I’ve had my youth, and I know you must take away my middle years, but please leave me my old age. Please leave a small light at the end of the tunnel, an excuse to stay healthy, an excuse to dream of better days ahead, and a chance to redeem myself in the free world before I meet my maker.
Silk Road was shut down by the feds after several customers OD'd on drugs they ordered online. Ulbricht earned $80 million in sales commissions at age 29.