Martin Shkreli jailed for offering $5,000 to anyone who could grab a strand of Hillary Clinton's hair
Judge Kiyo Matsumoto said Shkreli, who was convicted of fraud in August and is awaiting sentencing, has "demonstrated that he has posed a real danger."
In a Facebook post last week, Shkreli promoted a conspiracy about the Clinton Foundation and said he would pay any person who could procure a lock of hair from the former presidential candidate.
Prosecutors said the post reflected "an escalating pattern of threats and harassment," adding that it had triggered an investigation by the Secret Service that required "a significant expenditure of resources."
In a hearing in Brooklyn federal court, Judge Matsumoto said she was particularly concerned that he had "doubled down" on his challenge for someone to grab Clinton's hair. Shkreli said he required a hair with a follicle while urging his social media followers not to hurt anyone. She said his behavior indicates he is "an ongoing risk to the community."
34-years old Shkrell has called the post "satire." He ultimately asked Judge Matsumoto not to penalize him for "poor judgment" in a letter filed on Tuesday.
"I understand now, that some may have read my comments about Mrs. Clinton as threatening, when that was never my intention when making those comments," Shkreli wrote in the letter. "I used poor judgment but never intended to cause alarm or promote any act of violence whatsoever."
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