50 FBI Agents RAIDED His House... For a Bitcoin Wallet?! The Shocking Case of Samourai Wallet

Show Notes

Today I talk with Keonne Rodriguez, co-founder of Samourai Wallet, who is set to report to prison on December 19 unless he gets a pardon from President Trump... In April 2024, two Bitcoin software developers, Keonne Rodriguez and William "Bill" Lonergan Hill, were violently arrested in their homes in a pre-dawn militarized raid by the FBI for running Samourai Wallet—a non-custodial Bitcoin wallet—despite no prior warnings and full compliance with the law as they and their advisors understood it. If you want to help PARDON SAMOURAI here are some links: Keonne on X: https://x.com/keonne GET INVOLVED: https://billandkeonne.org/ SIGN THE PETITION : https://www.change.org/p/stand-up-for-freedom-pardon-the-innocent-coders-jailed-for-building-privacy-tools DONATE: https://www.givesendgo.com/billandkeonne They spent the next year and a half in the crippling uncertainty of home arrest, fighting against an adversary with unlimited resources. Keonne was sentenced on November 6, 2025, to the maximum five years in prison, plus an additional fine of $250,000, plus three years of supervised release. Bill was sentenced to four years in prison on November 19, 2025. He will also be responsible for a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. Both men are facing serious time in jail for writing code that supported the privacy and security of Bitcoin users. This case exemplifies DOJ overreach through a dangerous legal theory that criminalizes open-source code for legitimate privacy purposes. **Developers should not be held liable for bad actors using their software.** PARTNERS & DISCOUNTS: - BLOCKWARE: Mine Bitcoin, lower your tax bill, and stack sats hands-free with Blockware — get started today at https://mining.blockwaresolutions.com/titcoin and use code “titcoin” to get $100 off your first miner on the Blockware Marketplace. - LEDN: Bitcoin-backed lending. Go to https://ledn.io/walker and unlock liquidity WITHOUT selling your bitcoin. - BLOCKSTREAM JADE HARDWARE WALLET: Head to https://store.blockstream.com/ to automatically get 21% off every Blockstream Jade hardware wallet, no code needed, through the end of 2025. Use coupon code WALKER for an extra 10% off! - Buy Bitcoin with River: http://partner.river.com/walker - GET FOLD ($10 in bitcoin): https://use.foldapp.com/r/WALKER 🎧 Subscribe to @WalkerAmerica (THE Bitcoin Podcast) for more Bitcoin content! 📡 THE BITCOIN PODCAST is available on all major platforms: https://bitcoinpodcast.net/podcast • 🟡 Fountain: https://www.fountain.fm/show/68gcLZFDRxOzgGeZmXq6 • 🟢 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0f4Ke6gRTiLij0455nQjPH • 🍎 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bitcoin-podcast/id1694392423 ⸻ WALKER’S LINKS • 🔗 Nostr (Walker): https://primal.net/walker • 🎙️ Nostr Podcast: https://primal.net/titcoin • 🐦 X: https://x.com/walkeramerica | https://x.com/titcoinpodcast • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/titcoinpodcast/ • 🌐 Website: https://bitcoinpodcast.net/ Chapters 00:00 INTRO 02:00 Context of the Case 05:12 The Motivation Behind Samurai Wallet 07:54 The Evolution of Bitcoin and Privacy Concerns 10:59 The Raid and Its Implications 13:59 Understanding the Legal Framework 16:47 The Distinction Between Samurai Wallet and Traditional Mixers 20:02 Regulatory Guidance and Miscommunication 22:48 The Role of the Justice System 25:54 Jurisdiction and the Southern District of New York 32:56 Jurisdiction and Prosecution Tactics 36:41 The Reality of Legal Battles 39:55 Financial Strain and Legal Fees 44:31 Plea Deal Dynamics 52:59 The Absurdity of Charges 01:02:05 The Broader Implications of the Case 01:04:18 The Blanch Memo and Its Implications 01:07:53 The Southern District of New York’s Disregard for Guidelines 01:12:21 The Flawed Prosecution and Lack of Evidence 01:16:55 The Importance of Open Source and Community Action 01:22:40 Hope for the Future and the Call to Action