The Wives & Mothers Carrying The Fight Against Injustice | Bitcoin 2026

All right, good afternoon everyone. Thanks for being with us. I'm Aat Fenigon, host of You're the Voice podcast, an independent journalist, and these are three women I'm honored to have on a stage together. Allow me to bring everyone quickly up to speed. The three cases represented here have different charges, happened in different decades, and carry different outcomes. But the thread connecting them is the same. The state came for someone they loved. And these women stepped into the battlefield, political, legal, regulatory, and in the court of public opinion to fight for justice and liberation. Lauren Rodriguez, her husband Keone, co-founder of Samurai Wallet, is currently serving five years in federal prison for writing opensource Bitcoin privacy software. I interviewed Keone two days before he went in. Janice McAfee, her husband, the legendary John McAfee, cyber security pioneer and Bitcoin advocate, died in a Spanish prison in 2021 awaiting US extradition. He never saw a courtroom. Lyn Bric, her son Ross, was sentenced to double life without parole for Silk Road. Everyone knows that case. After 12 years of fighting, President Trump granted him a full pardon last year. She's now fighting for others serving cruel sentences. Please welcome Lauren, Janice, and Lynn. All right, let's start with Lauren. Hani is still imprisoned. What does daily life look like when your husband is inside and you're fighting a public battle? So, it's hard. Um, life for me, normal life continues as it did before, but with the added challenge of not having my husband. And then on top of that, as you mentioned, I'm trying to take every inch I can to bring about a pardon for Ke and Bill. And so that takes a lot of work. And there's definitely times when it would be easier to not get out of bed. But I just I don't think I could do that. It's just this drive, this need to bring my husband home. um cuz it's a real injustice what they faced and you know through this experience I've come to learn that there's a lot of other people facing similar injustices. Yeah. And so yeah, every day is is another step that that I hope we're getting a little bit closer. >> Thank you for being so brave and being here today and speaking out. >> Thank you so much. Yeah, you can clap and you can grab one of those wherever you are. So that everyone knows that this is what we're waiting for, a pardon. >> Janice, John died in custody before you could bring him home. >> What do you carry from that? And what does it mean to keep fighting after that? Um, so I I carry a lot of guilt because I feel like I I couldn't do more to to get him out of prison. You know, um, my hands were were really tied in that instance. Um, John had people that were working for him behind the scenes, attorneys, and um, if he didn't give me permission to do something, I didn't want to just go ahead and take um, an initiative to do anything cuz I didn't know if that would bring him harm or put him in harm's way. >> Um, and I carry a lot of anger. I'm very angry that no one has been held accountable um, for his death. you know, it was widely reported that he was found dead in his cell, but he wasn't dead. He was alive. He had a pulse and he was breathing. Um, and through looking at the security footage in the prison and the the photos that they took afterwards, um, I came to understand that they actually performed CPR on him with the news still around his neck. And so, I believe that that's why he's dead because again, he was not dead when they found him. And so I'm extremely angry that that no one has been held accountable um for that. And um what it means for me to continue fighting is to just speak as much as I can to whomever will listen uh about about what he faced, the injustice that he had faced and and how he eventually died there in that prison. >> Thank you so much for sharing that. >> Lynn, Ross is home finally. Yay. So good. >> Does the fight feel different now? And is it harder or easier to keep people's attention once the personal emergency is resolved? >> Yeah. Well, the fight is different because my my main prize was going to be Ross being out and it happened. Oh my god. Thank you, God. And thank you, President Trump and everyone here who helped so many people from the Bitcoin community. Couldn't have done it without you guys. Um, and so my life is not as intense or as desperate. It was, you know, adrenalinefilled. Um, like before I would force myself to do pretty scary stuff, you know, like I'm going to force myself to talk to this famous person or whatever. And one time that really stands out is what someone got me into Mara Lago at a a table and Trump came and he was sitting at his private table. It has a red uh thing around it. You know, it's his table. And um I went to the restroom and was coming back and I saw there was kind of a gap in that rope and he was just sitting there on his iPad controlling the music. And um I thought there he is. I'm going to go talk to him. And so I went up to him and, you know, said a few words. And um he was very kind. He was very nice. And um then I started talking about Ross and all of this stuff. as I felt myself slowly being moved and kind of lifted by these two giant people and um Secret Service and um I was taken away to my table. They didn't they weren't horrible or anything, but I couldn't believe I did it actually, but um and there were other times when there were people that I really wanted to talk to. So I forced myself to do a lot of things and go a lot of places and keep going when it was for my son. But I feel like now I want to help others like the samurai guys and others who are in there so unjustly and so it's not as intense, you know, but I I want to do what I can to help and call attention to it. >> Thank you for doing that. Ladies, none of you signed up to be a public figure or an advocate. What was that moment where you realized you are becoming one? What about you, Lauren? >> So Keone actually gave me an out. He said before going into prison like you don't have to do this. And he said that knowing that all the momentum he had built those last couple weeks before surrendering would be made moot. You know, he lost all that momentum. And you know, even I guess maybe more so because he said that, you know, he didn't push me. It really was my choice. You know, I did step into this this role and you know, may maybe it is a calling. I don't know. Um but I couldn't not, right? I know he would have done more so for me. He's um definitely the more I guess magnanimous interesting than I am. So, it's kind of fallen a little bit under my watch. But, you know, knowing that I am taking every step and and trying to do everything that I can to bring him home. Um, and to just like let people know because I think I'm up here with these two amazing women who have, you know, Ross and and John are such icons um [clears throat] this just especially the Bitcoin community, but wider. And I think um the Samurai wallet case and Kone and Bill are maybe not as well known and so you know doing everything I can to bring attention and yeah that's >> I think you're doing a great job. >> Thank you >> Janice. What about you? Um, I guess that moment came for me when John died, you know. Um, and um, just having to spend because it took almost 3 years for me to get his body back. So, I was, you know, stuck in Spain trying to get his body back and just trying to understand if this was just such an openandsh suicide case, what why can't I have his body? Why are they making it so difficult for me? >> Um and um I just I just couldn't be silent. Yeah. >> You know, because I don't think it's it's just you shouldn't be able to just kill people at random, you know, for something that they believe. Privacy is a fundamental right. Taxation is absolutely death, right? And this is what John believes. >> Yes. Taxation is theft. You heard it right. you know, and so, >> you know, no, no one should have to die for those beliefs, you know, but he paid the ultimate sacrifice. And I just >> I just couldn't be silent about that. And because I was there with him in Spain and I had, you know, intimate knowledge about what was going on, I just felt um it was just what I had to do. Lynn, how much of what happened to your family was about actual charges and how much was about sending a message? >> Well, the charges were jaw-dropping, unbelievable. Um, well, really the sentence was it really was horrific and um so that got a lot of attention, my attention. Um, it was devastating for our family. It was like it was a death sentence essentially. It was double life plus 40 years without the possibility of parole in a maximum security prison. That's torture essentially. And um so the sentence and the then the charges well the charges were one thing but the sentence was really the blow. Um and that affected us. But then I started realizing that this was a threat to all of us. It was a threat to privacy. It was a threat to there were a lot of things about the trial that were very questionable and a lot of um it's almost like if you go to trial you almost don't have a chance. Um and so it I started talking a lot also about hey this is about you guys too. It's not just Ross. And um I realized I I my eyes opened as far as the justice system, which I had some faith in before it all started, but you know, I realized, you know, that this is about all of us. And these people who are now in prison, they're peaceful people. They're innovators. Why are they in a cage? I mean, this is just insane in my mind. And um so I would say it was the sentence which was devastating but um it's also the message >> and so yeah it was both. >> Lauren, how much is this about the message that it's sending? >> 100%. Um Samurai Wallet was a non-custodial open-source Bitcoin wallet. This was completely about sending a message that the Biden administration at the time did not like Bitcoin in general, but specifically privacy on Bitcoin. Um they, you know, went so far as to even hide evidence that the regulator, the Financial Crime Enforcement Network, Fininsend, who's in charge of these laws, they they hid that evidence that they said Samurai was on violation of these laws and brought charges anyways. So, you know, this was a scare tactic. It was an attack on the Bitcoin community. is attack on privacy and you developers at large and you know I think that's what's really important is that this wasn't I think people kind of I was just them but no this if you look at what they said they said that the act of developing of coding samurai wallet that act in itself was the conspiracy >> so this isn't you know they they pointed to tweets and you know statements and took things out of context and but you know I'm happy to address any of that with anyone you know that this really it's it's not the press release. It was something different and and I think they achieved that. >> Yeah. Sending a chilling effect. >> Janice, what about you? >> Um I believe the charges against John were were only to send a message, right? He was someone who was very vocal about um using crypto to skirt taxation. Um he was very vocal um about government overreach and he firmly believed that there was um that a war was coming as it related to crypto. Um and we can see that with the the various um well with us sitting here on the stage. You know the they're kind of like a whack-a-ole. you know, you take out the ones that are the loudest that are actually making progress in this space. And um and I believe the message is to to scare everyone else into submission, right? Do what we say we want you to do. And you don't get to have ideas about bringing financial freedom or privacy to this space. You know, we're in control and and that's just what it is. You either tow the line or or you suffer the consequences. And we we are evidence of that >> 100%. Lauren, what precedent does the Samurai case set for every Bitcoin developer in this room? >> So, it's not just Bitcoin developers. I would say developers at large should be wary. They are saying that the code and the way the users used code, Kone and Bill are liable for how other people use their their code. So, you know, you can extrapolate that out. That's that's charging Ford because someone used a truck in a car in a crime or, you know, it goes on and on. Kitchen knives, etc. So, if you want to talk physical things, but especially software >> and specifically to Bitcoin, you know, a transaction is not confirmed until a minor puts it in a block. So when Kone and Bill are sitting in a federal prison for unlicensed money transmission, you know, I you do the math on that. I think the whole network if things aren't addressed and if people don't speak up and say that this is wrong the lightning node um you know relayers miners developers of other open- source non-custodial software wallets privacy um you know like talking there's all kinds of messy mess thank you that there's you know there's a lot of implic applications. >> Absolutely. >> And people need to wake up that that the threat is is real. And you know, we did hear from some politician or some people within the administration earlier and you know, they said that they don't want to go after these cases anymore. And um you know, I I have hope that that's true, but that doesn't mean the next administration might not. And it would be nice to see some relief from what the Biden administration did to these developers >> from that witch hunt. >> Lynn Ross got a pardon, but thousands of others are still serving sentences you'd call cruel and excessive. >> What's the common thread between his case and the people that Max, and you can tell us what Max is, is now fighting for. Yeah, Ma, I started um a nonprofit called Mothers Against Cruel Sentencing or Max and uh because uh well, Ross's sentence was so outrageous, it was it was shocking and I think it actually helped him with getting a pardon because uh President Trump even said he couldn't believe the sentence. But there's so many others and there's so many others who are uh nonviolent and as Ross said easily easily over half of the people that he met in there in maximum security prisons have no reason to be in there that they're decent people and they're peaceful and they're not going to harm anyone. And um so it just doesn't seem right in the land of the free that um there are these cruel sentences. It's in our constitution in the eth amendment. No cruel or unusual punishment. And so, um, in Ross' case, that was that was true. Um, Thomas Massie brought that up several times publicly. It was it was a violation of the ETH amendment. But, um, I've learned so much about it, not only with these prisoners who are innovators. They're they're we're wasting our our some of our most brilliant people by leaving them warehoused in prisons. And um they're peaceful. They're not It's not like I'm going to be walking down a dark alley and I'll run into Kani Rodriguez and I'm going to be scared, you know? It's crazy. And um it's wrong. >> And why are they in cages? So uh anyway, uh that was true with Ross, too. And some of the sentencing, there's thousands of people in prison for uh cannabis. something to do with cannabis and and and um that's pretty and crazy these days. Um you know, it's a whole situation, but um our crypto people are that's our community, you know, and uh the Bitcoin community was pivotal in helping Ross become free. And um I hope to see that happen here as well. But maybe we can talk about that. But I I'm it's it's very similar. I mean, some of the outrageous things with the sentence. And I think of one good thing of Ross' sentence is it does bring light to these crazy sentences that didn't used to be the case. Life sentences were rarely given when I was growing up and now they don't seem that rare. >> Totally exaggerated. M >> Janice, the US government never got to make its case against John in court. He passed away before that. Do you think that was intended? Who do you hold responsible? >> Um I I don't know if that was the intention, but it was the outcome. um and and what amounted to charges from the IRS that would have been like a slap on the wrist and maybe probably a fine of some sort, but it didn't warrant the literal hunting of us throughout the Caribbean, you know. Um it it was just a a a wildly targeted effort for for again for something that would have amounted to a simple fine. You know, it would would have never done any jail time um had he have not gone on the run, had he have just stayed and fought the charges. It would not have amounted to um certainly not him losing his life, you know. um and who I hold responsible. I mean, obviously, obviously the overreach of these charges, it just was ridiculous, you know. Um and again, the like it it literally felt like um I don't know if you guys have seen the Jason Bourne movies, but it felt like that. It was very intense. >> Yeah. >> Um very stressful. Uh always having to look over our shoulders. Um but John, you know, John, uh he was in his element in chaos. You know, he he was born and conceived in chaos. So, um chaos was was his, you know, kind of a stomping grounds. But for me, it was just it was overwhelming at times. But um again, this should be I I don't understand how this how this can still happen, you know, in your your husband's case, you know, that we're still having to have these conversations, you know, that the government is still just able to, you know, at will do what they want, you know, and completely dismantle people's lives for um for something that's our fundamental right. Privacy is a fundamental right. It's not a privilege, you know. >> No, it's a human right. Privacy is a human right. Privacy is not a crime. That's right. >> Absolutely. >> Hi, Lauren. What does Kan's path to freedom looks like from here? A pardon, an appeal, something else. What do you think? Where are we going? >> So, a pardon is the really the only option for us. Um, very thankful that a few months ago, President Trump did say that he'd look into this case. The president is a very busy man with a lot on his plate. So, you know, that's why I'm here is to keep up that this is a case that matters to Bitcoiners and to to the country at large. >> Yeah. >> A pardon is the path and and I think it's justly deserved. I don't think this is a questionable one. if he if he saw the actual facts of the case that this was complete I mean it's the same office that went after him these were you know this is a completely novel theory there are no you know people who have to follow these regulations because they take custody such as banks or western union um their CEOs aren't in prison >> that's [snorts] right >> you know and by the regulation we were completely within the bound pounds of the law. >> Yes. >> So, this is an injustice and a pardon would would clear that injustice. >> The how do you say it? The the home of the free, the land of the brave, the home of the free. We want to prove that right, right, >> Janice, what comes next for you uh with John's legacy? What would John want us to know and do these days? Okay. So I am a part of a project called antivirus and the goal of this project is to just bring to fruition the privacy products that John was working on. And so these products will help to um help individuals to keep their holdings anonymous as it should be because I think it this should have been a part of the foundation of the crypto space. But unfortunately uh it is not and I think what John would want us to know is that we cannot expect our government to have our best interest at heart. Um and we we absolutely need to continue to um just spread the message that that privacy is not a crime, right? It's a it's a fundamental right. Um we have an example of a French authority who was selling information of crypto currency holders their wallets their information and these you know kidnappings were were increased and so um privacy is absolutely essential in this space you know but not just in this space in general and so I think >> in a digital life >> absolutely >> absolutely it's we have to have these these tools and so that is the goal and that is how I I plan to kind of um keep John's legacy alive. >> Yes. So, this audience, Bitcoiners, builders, people who care about freedom, sovereignty, and privacy, what is the one thing you'd like them to do when they woke walk out of this room today, Lynn? Well, it's been declared by the president that the war on crypto is over, but we happen to have some PS left behind here from that war. And uh so um you know we had Ross now we have these innovators several and there's some blue handouts going around with the each case. There's many. >> Yeah. >> Way too many. And um that's now but in the future it could be anybody here unless this is remedied. people involved in innovators, people involved in new technologies who aren't violent, who have, you know, have not brought harm should not be caged. They should not be in a cage, period. And um you know, Ross spoke to the Bitcoin conference in 2021 from prison. And in that speech he said, you know, help us, you know, Bitcoin is powerful. Don't forget the prisoners. Yeah, >> Bitcoin is powerful. You can do things. Um, so please, you know, if you can there's QR codes on that handout to each each prisoner's website. There's other people who are also in um help them out financially. Spread the word. If you have um connections, political connections that can especially that can get to the White House, please use those. Let's get them out, you know. Let's just get them out of here. >> Let's get them out. Thank you so much, Lynn, Janice, Lauren. Your voice matters. Your heart and soul in these causes is the most significant thing you can ever do with your life. Thank you so much for dedicating your time to this. We ran out of time. I would have talked to you for another three day. Thank you so much, ladies. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, guys.