In a dramatic turn of events, Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange, had his bail revoked by United States District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Friday. The judge found probable cause that Bankman-Fried had tampered with witnesses on at least two occasions, leading to the decision to revoke his bail just two months before his scheduled October fraud trial.

Bankman-Fried, a 31-year-old former billionaire, is facing charges of stealing billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to cover losses at his Alameda Research hedge fund. Despite pleading not guilty, the revocation of his bail could complicate his preparations for the upcoming trial.

At the hearing, the judge rejected a defense request to delay Bankman-Fried's detention pending an appeal of the bail revocation. As a result, he was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs by members of the US Marshals Service after removing his shoelaces, jacket, tie, and emptying his pockets. Bankman-Fried's parents, both law professors at Stanford University, were present in the courtroom, with his mother nodding to him in tears as he left and his father placing his hand over his heart.

The decision to revoke his bail came after prosecutors made a request to jail Bankman-Fried on July 26, accusing him of crossing a line by sharing his former romantic partner Caroline Ellison's personal writings with a New York Times reporter. Ellison, who was the chief executive of Alameda Research, is expected to testify against him in the trial. Bankman-Fried's lawyers argued that prosecutors mischaracterized his intentions in sharing Ellison's writings and emphasized his right to speak to the press to defend his reputation.

Throughout the proceedings, Bankman-Fried has been largely confined to his parents' home in Palo Alto, California, on a $250 million bond since his arrest in December. However, his ability to communicate has been monitored as part of his bail conditions. Concerns were raised when it was revealed that he had shown the writings to the reporter during an in-person meeting at his parents' home, leading to fears that he was attempting to cover his tracks.

The fallout from Bankman-Fried's actions has attracted significant media attention, including from the New York Times, which published excerpts from Ellison's personal Google documents on July 20. In these writings, she expressed her unhappiness and feeling overwhelmed with her job, as well as the emotional impact of her personal breakup with Bankman-Fried.

With the trial set to begin on October 2, Bankman-Fried's bail revocation marks a significant setback for the disgraced FTX founder. As the case continues to unfold, further developments are expected, and this story will be updated accordingly.