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Martin Shkreli So Sorry For Telling His Followers To Collect Hillary Clinton's Hair
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Sep 13, 2017
Modified Apr 11, 2018
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By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Sep 13, 2017
Modified Apr 11, 2018
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When we checked in on Martin Shkreli last month, the sallow Internet villain was celebrating a split verdict in his securities fraud trial by live-streaming his one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang album, boasting about his obscene wealth, and recording a female reporter without her consent. Since then, he's put his Wu-Tang album up for sale, gotten repeatedly owned by a jury of his peers, and is now begging a judge not to revoke his bail over an unhinged Facebook post urging his followers to grab samples of Hillary Clinton's hair.
"I understand now, that some may have read my comments about Mrs. Clinton as threatening, when that was never my intention," Shkreli wrote, referring to a status in which he promised his 94,000 followers a reward of "$5,000 per hair obtained from Hillary Clinton." The request sparked expanded protection for Clinton from the U.S. Secret Service, and led prosecutors to ask a judge to revoke Shkreli's $5 million bail.
"I used poor judgement but never intended to cause alarm or promote any act of violence whatsoever," Shkreli begged. "It never occurred to me that my awkward attempt at humor or satire would cause Mrs. Clinton or the Secret Service any distress."
But Shkreli, ever-committed to posting, appears to have only recently adopted this regret. On Thursday, the same day that prosecutors complained about Shkreli's online threats, he wrote: "Fuck the government. I will never kiss their ring or snitch. Come at me with you [sic] hardest because I haven’t seen anything impressive yet."
The change in tune comes just hours before a Wednesday afternoon hearing in which a judge will decide whether to revoke Shkreli's bail.
Like a small child learning from a slightly larger child, Shkreli also attempted to liken his frequent social media blasts to President Donald Trump's "political hyperbole."
"Indeed, in the current political climate, dissent has unfortunately often taken the form of political satire, hyperbole, parody, or sarcasm," Shkreli’s attorney wrote in a letter to the court. "While we do not condone Mr. Shkreli’s comments, his constitutionally-protected political hyperbole does not rise to the level of making him a ‘danger to the community’ when he is not and has never been considered to be a danger."
Shkreli faces multiple counts of securities fraud and a maximum of 20 years in prison.
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martin shkreli
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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