Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
The petition to pardon Samourai Wallet developers Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill is performative theater that asks privacy advocates to compromise the exact principles these developers are being prosecuted for defending. Rodriguez got five years and Hill got four years for building a Bitcoin wallet that prioritized financial privacy, charged with unlicensed money transmission under 18 USC 1960.
This video breaks down why the petition strategy fundamentally fails. Federal prosecutors don't care about petition signatures they care about conviction rates and career advancement. I couldn't find a single verified example of a Change.org petition, by itself, resulting in a presidential pardon. Ross Ulbricht's pardon took years of coalition building and direct lobbying before Trump acted in January 2025. The Samourai petition launched after Rodriguez and Hill already pleaded guilty in July 2025, with a manufactured 30-day deadline designed to create false urgency.
The security failures are even worse. GiveSendGo got hacked twice in 2022 the second breach leaked 5 gigabytes of data including 1,400 unredacted passport and driver's license images from every campaign in the platform's history. Change.org lets petition creators download your name, city, and postal code even if you select "private signature." Both platforms hand information to law enforcement when requested and log IP addresses. When you sign the petition, Change.org offers a donation link that keeps 100% of the money for their own advertising budget none goes to legal defense.
☆-----☆-----☆-----☆-----☆ CHAPTERS ☆-----☆-----☆-----☆-----☆
00:00 Devs Going to Prison for Privacy Software
00:45 The Petition Problem
02:16 "Unlicensed Money Transmission" Is an Oxymoron
03:35 Proof We Live in a Nanny State
05:19 False Hope Is Cruelty
06:30 Performative Theater
06:42 Prosecutors Don't Care About Signatures
09:31 No Change.org Petition Has Ever Resulted in a Pardon
10:51 The Petition Creates a Surveillance Artifact
11:43 Platform Breaches and Tracking
13:23 Change.org Keeps 100% of Donations
14:06 The Deadline Is Crisis Theater
15:13 Ross Ulbricht Took Years Not 30 Days
17:06 Resistance as Consumer Behavior
18:02 Know Your Enemy
19:15 "How Could This Happen?"
19:33 The Biggest Criminals Write the Laws
21:20 Nobody Mentioned Appeals
21:28 The Brady Violation
22:37 The Law Library: Most Dangerous Place in Prison
24:20 Some People Will Use Your Prosecution for Clout
26:13 The Hashtag Grifter Cycle
28:08 Petitions Are Pressure Release Valves
29:03 Two Types of People Who Think Petitions Work
34:07 The FinCEN Timeline
36:32 Their Actual Sentences
36:53 Why They Pled Guilty (98% Conviction Rate)
38:23 You Commit Three Felonies a Day
40:18 Guilty Pleas Aren't Admissions of Guilt
41:32 Lessons for Privacy Developers
43:45 The Precedent This Sets
44:22 How to Actually Help: Money Orders
46:15 BP-199: How Inmates Control Their Funds
48:14 How to Find an Inmate and Send Mail
49:00 Sending Books and Pictures
50:04 Closing
#samurai
☆-----☆-----☆-----☆-----☆ SOCIAL MEDIA ☆-----☆-----☆-----☆-----☆
🎙️ Podcast: rss.com/podcasts/darknet
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🌐 Dread (Onion Link): http://dreadytofatroptsdj6io7l3xptbet6onoyno2yv7jicoxknyazubrad.onion/d/doingfedtime
🌐 Pitch (Onion Link): http://pitchprash4aqilfr7sbmuwve3pnkpylqwxjbj2q5o4szcfeea6d27yd.onion/@doingfedtime
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📸 Instagram: instagram.com/sambentoffical
📌 Pinterest: pinterest.com/DoingFedTime
☆-----☆-----☆-----☆-----☆ LEGAL STUFF☆-----☆-----☆-----☆-----☆
The information provided in this video is intended for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be legal or professional advice, and should not be relied upon as such.
By watching this video, you acknowledge that you understand and agree to these terms. If you disagree with these terms, do not watch this video.
The petition to pardon Samourai Wallet developers Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill is performative theater that asks privacy advocates to compromise the exact principles these developers are being prosecuted for defending. Rodriguez got five years and Hill got four years for building a Bitcoin wallet that prioritized financial privacy, charged with unlicensed money transmission under 18 USC 1960.
This video breaks down why the petition strategy fundamentally fails. Federal prosecutors don't care about petition signatures they care about conviction rates and career advancement. I couldn't find a single verified example of a Change.org petition, by itself, resulting in a presidential pardon. Ross Ulbricht's pardon took years of coalition building and direct lobbying before Trump acted in January 2025. The Samourai petition launched after Rodriguez and Hill already pleaded guilty in July 2025, with a manufactured 30-day deadline designed to create false urgency.
The security failures are even worse. GiveSendGo got hacked twice in 2022 the second breach leaked 5 gigabytes of data including 1,400 unredacted passport and driver's license images from every campaign in the platform's history. Change.org lets petition creators download your name, city, and postal code even if you select "private signature." Both platforms hand information to law enforcement when requested and log IP addresses. When you sign the petition, Change.org offers a donation link that keeps 100% of the money for their own advertising budget none goes to legal defense.
☆-----☆-----☆-----☆-----☆ CHAPTERS ☆-----☆-----☆-----☆-----☆
00:00 Devs Going to Prison for Privacy Software
00:45 The Petition Problem
02:16 "Unlicensed Money Transmission" Is an Oxymoron
03:35 Proof We Live in a Nanny State
05:19 False Hope Is Cruelty
06:30 Performative Theater
06:42 Prosecutors Don't Care About Signatures
09:31 No Change.org Petition Has Ever Resulted in a Pardon
10:51 The Petition Creates a Surveillance Artifact
11:43 Platform Breaches and Tracking
13:23 Change.org Keeps 100% of Donations
14:06 The Deadline Is Crisis Theater
15:13 Ross Ulbricht Took Years Not 30 Days
17:06 Resistance as Consumer Behavior
18:02 Know Your Enemy
19:15 "How Could This Happen?"
19:33 The Biggest Criminals Write the Laws
21:20 Nobody Mentioned Appeals
21:28 The Brady Violation
22:37 The Law Library: Most Dangerous Place in Prison
24:20 Some People Will Use Your Prosecution for Clout
26:13 The Hashtag Grifter Cycle
28:08 Petitions Are Pressure Release Valves
29:03 Two Types of People Who Think Petitions Work
34:07 The FinCEN Timeline
36:32 Their Actual Sentences
36:53 Why They Pled Guilty (98% Conviction Rate)
38:23 You Commit Three Felonies a Day
40:18 Guilty Pleas Aren't Admissions of Guilt
41:32 Lessons for Privacy Developers
43:45 The Precedent This Sets
44:22 How to Actually Help: Money Orders
46:15 BP-199: How Inmates Control Their Funds
48:14 How to Find an Inmate and Send Mail
49:00 Sending Books and Pictures
50:04 Closing
#samurai
☆-----☆-----☆-----☆-----☆ SOCIAL MEDIA ☆-----☆-----☆-----☆-----☆
🎙️ Podcast: rss.com/podcasts/darknet
🌐 Official Website: doingfedtime.com
🌐 Official Website Mirror: sambent.com
📘 Facebook: facebook.com/TheOfficialSamBent
🐦 Twitter/X: twitter.com/DoingFedTime
💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sam-bent
📧 Email: contact@sambent.com
📱 TikTok: facebook.com/TheOfficialSamBent
📚 Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/stores/Sam-Bent/author/B0BHX5V81S
🌐 Dread (Onion Link): http://dreadytofatroptsdj6io7l3xptbet6onoyno2yv7jicoxknyazubrad.onion/d/doingfedtime
🌐 Pitch (Onion Link): http://pitchprash4aqilfr7sbmuwve3pnkpylqwxjbj2q5o4szcfeea6d27yd.onion/@doingfedtime
🐙 GitHub: github.com/DoingFedTime
👾 Reddit (User Account): reddit.com/user/reservesteel9
📽️ Rumble: rumble.com/c/SamBent
🛡️ Breach Forums (Onion Link): http://breached26tezcofqla4adzyn22notfqwcac7gpbrleg4usehljwkgqd.onion/User-SamBent
📸 Instagram: instagram.com/sambentoffical
📌 Pinterest: pinterest.com/DoingFedTime
☆-----☆-----☆-----☆-----☆ LEGAL STUFF☆-----☆-----☆-----☆-----☆
The information provided in this video is intended for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be legal or professional advice, and should not be relied upon as such.
By watching this video, you acknowledge that you understand and agree to these terms. If you disagree with these terms, do not watch this video.
