Court Revokes Martin Shkreli's Bail Citing His 'Solicitation Of Assault'

A federal judge in New York has revoked the bail of former pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli after he recently offered to pay $5,000 for a strand of Hillary Clinton's hair, follicle included.

U.S District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto said the offer made on Facebook "is a solicitation of assault. That is not protected by the First Amendment."

His lawyers initially said Shkreli was only joking and then offered an apology in a legal brief earlier in the week. Defense attorney Benjamin Brafman even acknowledged that the ex-CEO "says things that are stupid."

Matsumoto wasn't buying it.

"The fact that he continues to remain unaware of the inappropriateness of his actions or words demonstrates to me that he may be creating ongoing risk to the community," said the judge, as quoted in the Washington Post.

Shkreli is awaiting sentencing after being convicted on three counts of securities fraud in August. He faces up to 20 years in prison. He gained notoriety for hiking up the price of an AIDS drug by 5,000 percent. His lack of public remorse and quirky behavior earned him the moniker "Pharma Bro."

Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.