News Link • Politics: Libertarian Campaigns
The Next Ross Ulbricht? Libertarians Using Support for Roger Ver to Swing Midterms
• by Cassandra MacDonaldUlbricht was seen by many as wrongfully prosecuted for enabling online commerce to be settled in Bitcoin.
The Libertarian Party has been broadcasting for months that Roger Ver might be their new Ross Ulbricht for the midterms.
"The Libertarian Party remains dedicated to fighting for justice & individual liberty, including advocating for the release of political prisoner Roger Ver," the Libertarian Party said on Friday. "Known as 'Bitcoin Jesus,' Roger has been a trailblazer for economic freedom through cryptocurrency."
In another post, the Libertarian Party wrote, "Roger Ver is facing life in prison for revealing how the US government worked secretly to subvert cryptocurrency and prevent economic freedom. More people should hear this story."
Ver is facing 109 years in prison after being arrested in Spain for charges filed by the Biden administration. He was arrested in April 2024 for mail fraud, tax evasion, and filing false tax returns, and is being held for possible extradition to the U.S.
Over 10 years ago, Ver already went to great lengths to pay the IRS for his Bitcoin holdings at the time. He has argued that the IRS is retroactively applying new tax rules to his 2014 Bitcoin sales, which he sold as a non-U.S. citizen living abroad, and that the charges stem from an overreach by the U.S. government.
"I have always tried to pay what the law requires. This isn't about taxes," Ver wrote on Twitter in March. "I've always known I'd be targeted politically for spreading cryptocurrency and voluntaryist ideals."
The DOJ prosecution of Ver, initiated under the Biden administration, is proving to be deeply unpopular with libertarians.
"Roger Ver is a political prisoner," the popular libertarian account wrote on Twitter. "The DOJ and IRS are not 'really' after him for tax issues. They certainly did not raid his attorney's office and want him sentenced for 109 years for THAT. What the establishment wants is simply for Roger, like President Trump and others, to shut up, bow down, and be a lesson for all of us who dare to challenge their authority. The lawfare must stop."
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1 Comments in Response to The Next Ross Ulbricht? Libertarians Using Support for Roger Ver to Swing Midterms
As I described very thoroughly on X, I now have no doubt that Ver is guilty of all charges. Nearly every assertion of his is marbled with distortions, half-truths, lies, or omissions. This is provable even within his own Motion to Dismiss. Ver could have refused to file/pay the unconstitutional 26 USC 877A "exit tax" and challenged it in court as a champion of Freedom. But he didn't do that. It's obvious to me that he under-reported the hell of his personal BTCs through a phony back-dated gift scheme. First off, he's not facing "109 years!" (30 of those years don't even apply, as no death occurred from his mail fraud) and not even a farfetched consecutive 79 years, but probably <20 years. Hardly a "life sentence". Why do I care about any of this? Because charlatans like Roger Ver have polluted the Freedom Movement I’ve known and supported for over three decades. https://solarireport.substack.com/p/the-prosecution-of-roger-ver-a-lawfare/comments