Elon Musk Withdraws Support for Roger Ver’s Pardon Amidst Extradition Proceedings

Roger Ver, a leading crypto advocate and early Bitcoin investor, is facing serious legal challenges as he pleads with former President Donald Trump to intervene in his case.  

He is most popularly known as ‘Bitcoin Jesus’ among his followers on social media platform X.

Roger Ver Faces Life Sentence, Calls Trump His “Last Hope”

In a video shared on X on January 26, Roger Ver has reached out to Trump to stop his extradition from Spain to the US.

“Mr. President, I am an American, and I need your help. Only you, with your commitment to justice, can save me,” Ver wrote on X.

Ver is accused of evading $48 million in taxes by hiding $240 million from the sale of Bitcoin in 2017. However, Ver claims that the US government is not targeting him for tax evasion but instead for his promotion of Bitcoin.

“By later tonight in Spain, I could very well be in a Spanish prison on my way back to the United States to face life in prison up to 109 years. Not because I have done anything wrong, but because of my activism within cryptocurrency,” Ver said in the video.

Ver, who renounced his US citizenship years ago, argues that the charges against him are politically motivated. They relate to his public advocacy for Bitcoin, which challenges traditional financial systems. Ver calls Trump his “last hope,” expecting that the president will intervene and stop his extradition to the US.

The situation gained further attention when Elon Musk initially explored the possibility of a pardon for Ver. Musk’s interest in a potential pardon came amid the public campaign for Ver’s clemency. This was following the successful pardon of Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road marketplace. 

Musk had stated that he would inquire about the pardon, raising hopes for Ver’s supporters.

However, Musk recently reversed his stance. When an X user asked Musk when Roger Ver would receive a pardon, Musk responded bluntly, “Roger Ver gave up his US citizenship. No pardon for Ver. Membership has its privileges.” This comment suggests that Ver’s decision to renounce his citizenship could impact his chances of receiving any pardon or support.

“I gave up my citizenship because I knew some US government agencies would keep targeting me for my political views and past activism,” Ver explained in the video.

Separately, the odds of Trump granting clemency to ver during the first 100 days have dropped to 12% on the prediction platform Polymarket.

Nevertheless, several Twitter users have come in support of Ver following Musk’s comment.

“It’s important to recognize Roger didn’t *want* to renounce his citizenship, but he feared further political persecution and further imprisonment (he had already been jailed unjustly once). It’s unfair to hold that against him now, when he was just trying to protect himself,” a Ver supporter wrote on Twitter.

In December, Ver urged a US court to dismiss tax evasion charges filed against him. Ver was arrested in February while attending a crypto conference in Barcelona.