Martin Shkreli, the so-called "Pharma Bro" famous for jacking up the price of an AIDS drug by 5,000 percent but convicted of defrauding investors during his time as a hedge fund manager, was jailed Wednesday after a federal judge revoked his $5 million bail.
Prosecutors argued that Shkreli, who is set to be sentenced later this fall, has been spending his time harassing women online, notably when he announced on social media he would give $5,000 to anyone who got a strand of Hillary Clinton's hair. Shkreli apologized, and said he wasn't being serious. "He does not need to apologize to me," U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto said. "He should have apologized to the government, the Secret Service, and Hillary Clinton. This is a solicitation of assault. That is not protected by the First Amendment."
An attorney for Shkreli said his client's comments were "stupid," but his "political hyperbole" was protected by the Constitution and he is not a danger to society. (The Justice Department disagrees with that last part.) Shkreli was taken into custody after the hearing, and will remain in jail until his sentencing hearing. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
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