Federal prosecutors are requesting a judge lift Martin Shkreli’s bail and send him to jail, after the “Pharmo Bro” posted an intimidating message online directed at Hillary Clinton on Facebook.
The court motion filed in New York on Thursday show federal prosecutors calling on a judge to remove Shkreli’s $5 million bond and place him behind bars for dangerous public conduct.
In a Facebook post, Shkerli wrote that people should “try to grab a hair” from Clinton during her upcoming book tour. “Will pay $5,000 per hair obtained from Hillary Clinton after the sequence matches. Good luck, patrollers,” he wrote. The post was deleted.
Prosecutors say this incident among others “demonstrates that he cannot meet his post-trial burden to show, by clear and convincing evidence, that he does not pose a danger to the community.”
Shkreli took to Facebook to respond to the backlash from his controversial statement about Clinton and said it was a joke.
“Lol Hillary Clinton’s presumptive agents are hard at work. It was just a prank, bro! But still, lock HER up. Spend your resources investigating her, not me!!” he posted on Facebook on Thursday.
He also responded to the prosecutors’ request by posting on Facebook, “F— the government.”
Shkreli was convicted in August on several counts of securities fraud for deceiving investors about his unsuccessful hedge fund. He also was convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. He could face a maximum of 20 years in prison, although he has stated he will challenge the conviction, Buzzfeed reported.
Shkreli, former CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, became well-known for jacking up the prices of Daraprim, a life-saving drug used by HIV patients, from $13.50 to $750 per pill.
