‘Pharma bro’ Martin Shkreli locked up for violent Hillary Clinton threat
NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 17: Martin Shkreli (2nd R), CEO of Turing Pharmaceutical, is brought out of 26 Federal Plaza by law enforcement officials after being arrested for securities fraud on December 17, 2015 in New York City. Shkreli gained notoriety earlier this year for raising the price of Daraprim, a medicine used to treat the parasitic condition of toxoplasmosis, from $13.50 to $750 though the arrest that happened early this morning does not involve that price hike. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
‘Pharma bro’ Martin Shkreli is to be locked up for making a lewd threat against Hillary Clinton.
His court case took a shock turn Wednesday night when Brooklyn Federal Judge Kiyo Matsumoto revoked his $5 million bail.
Shkreli had written on Facebook that he would give $5,000 to someone who plucked Secretary Clinton’s hair during her book tour.
The 34-year-old is now bound for jail as the remainder of his case is played out.
Former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli
Shkreli — who hiked the price of an AIDS drug from $13.50 to $750 a pill when he ran Turing Pharmaceuticals — was convicted in August of securities fraud and a related conspiracy count.
Judge Matsumoto said the Clinton remarks were the final straw and would “cause a reasonable person to have concern.”
She said that, while he wasn’t proposing to be violent himself, nobody could know how his followers would react.
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“The fact that he continues to remain unaware of the inappropriateness of his actions or words demonstrate to me he may well be an ongoing danger or risk to the community,” Matsumoto said.
Shkreli’s lawyer, Ben Brafman, pleaded for some 20 minutes, according to New York Daily News, but the judge refused to negotiate on the revoked bail.
They had requested a social media ban instead.
“He should be apologising to the government and Secretary Clinton,” the judge told Shkreli and his lawyer.
“He is soliciting an assault on another person in exchange for $5,000,” Matsumoto said.
“I can’t say with any certainty that the threats have not been taken seriously by anybody.”
Turing Pharmaceuticals founder Shkreli came under fire in 2015 after buying the rights to 62-year-old drug Daraprim, which is used to treat conditions including AIDS-related toxoplasmosis, and jacking up the price to $750 a pill – a 5500% price.
Shkreli was removed as the company’s CEO after he was arrested over unrelated fraud allegations, but has maintained a media profile as a Donald Trump supporter.
A federal jury found a split verdict, with the three guilty findings and acquitting the self-style pharma bro of five other criminal counts.
Prosecutors had claimed that Shkreli had defrauded a number of investors in two hedge funds, and taken millions of dollars.
