Pharmaceutical entrepreneur and troll icon Martin Shkreli was jailed on Wednesday for making a post on Facebook offering $5,000 to anyone who could get him a lock of Hillary Clinton’s hair.
Shkreli was free on bail awaiting sentencing for a fraud conviction when he made the Facebook post.
“The Clinton Foundation is willing to KILL to protect its secrets. So on HRC’s book tour, try to grab a hair from her,” wrote Shkreli. “I must confirm the sequences I have. Will pay $5,000 per hair obtained from Hillary Clinton. Payment after the sequence matches. Good luck, patrollers.”
CNBC reported the post to the Secret Service, who allegedly contacted Shkreli shortly after, prompting him to add “(this is satire, meant for humor and not an endorsement of violence against a truly wonderful public servant),” to the post.
According to the New York Times, “At the hearing in Federal District Court in Brooklyn, Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto said that Mr. Shkreli’s post could be perceived as a true threat.”
“That is a solicitation to assault in exchange for money that is not protected by the First Amendment,” the judge declared.
The Times reports, “Shkreli was scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 16, but he most likely will not be released before then unless his lawyers can show that he poses no threat to the community.”
Shkreli’s lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, claimed at the hearing that his client had “a momentary lapse in judgment,” adding, “Stupid doesn’t make you violent.”
Brafman further added that the post showed “immaturity, satire, [and] a warped sense of humor.”
During Shkreli’s trial in June, 250 potential jurors had to be dismissed for holding biases against him.
Several jurors were not aware of what charges Shkreli faced and seemed to think it was in response to his controversial drug price increases.
One potential juror was dismissed after calling Shkreli “a greedy little man,” while another was dismissed for claiming “he kind of looks like a dick.”
Other potential jurors were even dismissed for holding negative biases against Shkreli because he had “disrespected” popular hip hop group “The Wu-Tang Clan.”
In January, Shkreli was permanently suspended from Twitter, after he flirted with a left-wing female journalist.
Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington and Gab @Nash, or like his page at Facebook.
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