Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was arrested and charged with sex trafficking. Here’s how the news unfolded

Speaking to the press outside the courthouse after the hearing, his attorney, Agnifilo, said: “Mr. Combs is a fighter, he’s going to fight this until the end, he’s innocent.”

“We’re going to fight this case with everything we have, as is he,” Agnifilo said.

He said they are appealing the decision to hold Combs without bail.

After the magistrate judge finished speaking, Combs took a long swig from his water bottle.

Shortly afterward, he was led by marshals from the courtroom. As he walked out, he turned toward family members who were several rows back and then headed out.

In deciding to deny Combs bail, Tarnofsky said she has “very significant concerns” about Combs’ substance abuse and “what appears to be anger issues.”

Tarnofsky said she considered alternatives but doesn’t think it’s sufficient because so much of what’s alleged happened behind closed doors.

As the lawyers debated, Combs sat, often looking straight ahead and expressionless, with his arms folded in his lap.

At times he or his lawyers leaned over to converse.

They are nearest to the gallery, which is full of reporters and other observers.

The courtroom, one of the larger ones at the federal courthouse in Manhattan, is packed with around 150 people.

Agnifilo argued that the “Freak Offs” mentioned in the indictment were an expansion of Combs’ long-term relationship with one woman -- introducing a male partner to have sex with the person identified in the document as “Victim 1.”

Agnifilo said he and his co-counsel have interviewed a half-dozen of those men and that none said they ever saw any non-consensual sex, control or coercion.

“Is it sex trafficking? Not if everybody wants to be there,” Agnifilo said. “We are not better off if the federal government comes into our bedrooms. They don’t do good there. That’s what they’re doing. They’re coming into Mr. Combs’ bedroom.”

Combs’ defense attorney, who is asking that Combs be released on bail, said in court that by coming to New York in anticipation of the charges, the music producer “did the exact opposite of what we see defendants do when they’re presented with problems in the court.”

He came to New York to “wait it out,” Marc Agnifilo said.

Agnifilo added that Combs is in the city receiving “treatment and therapy for things that he needs treatment and therapy for.”

“He is not a perfect person. There has been drug use. He has been in toxic relationships,” Agnifilo said, arguing that the toxicity emanated from both Combs and the people he was involved with.

Johnson pointed to a 2016 video of Combs assaulting a woman as she attempted to leave a California hotel. The prosecutor said it happened after one of the “Freak Offs,” defined in the indictment as “elaborate and produced sex performances.”

Johnson did not identify the woman who was attacked, but a video from that time, first published by CNN this year, shows Combs attacking R&B singer Cassie.

Johnson said Combs attempted to bribe a hotel security officer “with a handful of cash in exchange for his silence,” but was unsuccessful.

Within days, the video of the incident disappeared from the hotel’s servers, Johnson said. Prosecutors argue that wasn’t a coincidence.

Johnson said Combs only acknowledged his conduct from the incident relatively recently, after being confronted with video of it. She argued that’s proof he can’t be taken at his word.

Federal prosecutors have asked that Combs be jailed without bail, while Combs’ attorneys have proposed he be released on a $50 million bond.

In court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson said the government is seeking Combs’ detention on “multiple bases,” including the severity of the charges against him and the potential punishment of life in prison. She argued that he is a flight risk and that there is a risk of witness intimidation.

“Mr. Combs physically and sexually abused victims for decades,” Johnson said. “He used the vast resources of his company to facilitate his abuse and cover up his crimes. Simply put, he is a serial abuser and a serial obstructor.”

Combs sat stoically, showing no reaction on his face, as U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky read through the allegations.

Combs stood to enter his plea.

“Mr. Combs, do you wish to enter a plea?” Tarnofsky asked.

“Not guilty,” Combs replied.

Combs entered the Manhattan courtroom Monday afternoon with his hands behind his back, though they were not cuffed. He pulled up a chair and sat between his attorneys, nodding as his lawyer spoke to him.

Lawyers for the music mogul said in court filings arguing for his release that he’s struggled to find a rental in his hometown.

The lawyers say they’ve been searching for a one-month rental for the Harlem native, but it’s been challenging due to major events happening in the city, from the U.S. Open to Fashion Week, and the United Nations summit – not to mention the reticence of some landlords of having Combs as a tenant given the investigation.

Since arriving on Sept. 5, Combs has been staying at the Park Hyatt New York, where he was arrested Monday night, and has a reservation at the Carlyle Hotel starting Tuesday.

In their detention memo, prosecutors say Combs repeatedly engaged in violence towards his employees and others.

Prosecutors say in December 2011, Combs was involved in kidnapping someone at gunpoint in order to break into a residence. They say multiple witnesses, police reports and other records corroborate the incident.

Then two weeks later, prosecutors say, Combs’ allies set fire to a vehicle by slicing open the car’s convertible top and dropping a Molotov cocktail inside.

Police and fire department reports document the arson. Multiple witnesses heard Combs brag about his involvement, according to prosecutors.

Combs has been charged with racketeering conspiracy, a federal charge famously used to bring down the mafia and drug cartels.

So far, no one else besides the music mogul has been charged, but Williams, the U.S. attorney, reiterated from the indictment that prosecutors believe Combs did not act alone.

He accused security staff, household staff and even high-ranking music industry supervisors of being complicit.

“When the hotel rooms got damaged, they helped clean it up,” Williams said. “They delivered large quantities of cash to Combs to pay for the commercial sex workers.”

He said the investigation is ongoing.
“I encourage anyone with information about this case to come forward and to do it quickly,” Williams said.

His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said outside the courthouse Tuesday morning that he’d fight to keep him free, and that Combs is innocent and would plead not guilty.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams reflected on the stunning fall from grace for the Harlem-born music mogul once synonymous with New York hip hop.

“A year ago Sean Combs stood in Times Square and was handed a key to New York City,” he said. “Today he’s been indicted and will face justice in the Southern District of New York.”

Combs returned the key in June after Mayor Eric Adams requested it back in response to the release of a video showing the music mogul attacking R&B singer Cassie.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, whose office is bringing the case, is discussing the allegations against Combs at a news conference.

He spoke in front of a display board with images of some of the items authorities say were recovered in the searches, including AR-15s and a drum magazine containing dozens of rounds of ammunition.

“To carry out this conduct, Sean Combs led and participated in a racketeering conspiracy that used the business empire he controlled to carry out criminal activity, including sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and the obstruction of justice,” Williams said in remarks that echoed the three-count indictment.

He also said that federal agents who searched Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami in March seized electronic devices that contain images and videos of the “freak offs.”

The singer and Comb’s former longtime girlfriend, who Combs was seen attacking in a March 2016 security video, has declined to comment on the indictment.

“In response to the numerous inquiries we have received regarding the indictment of Sean Combs, neither Ms. Ventura nor I have any comment,” Douglas Wigdor, her lawyer, said in a statement. “We appreciate your understanding and if that changes, we will certainly let you know.”

The singer reached a settlement last November with Combs, one day after filing a lawsuit containing allegations of beatings and abuse by the music producer.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, whose office is bringing the case, is expected to discuss the allegations against Combs at a news conference starting shortly.

The indictment alleges that, unbeknownst to his victims, Combs would sometimes keep videos he filmed of the women engaging in sex acts. Combs used the recordings “as collateral to ensure the continued obedience and silence of the victims,” the indictment said.

As the threat of criminal charges loomed, Combs and his associates also pressured witnesses and victims to stay silent, including by attempting to bribe them and providing them with a false narrative of events, according to indictment.

Outside the Manhattan courthouse earlier Tuesday, Agnifilo, Combs’ lawyer, said that he would “fight like hell” to get him released from federal custody.

Agnifilo noted he came to New York City voluntarily because they knew the charges were coming.

“Not a lot of defendants do that. He came to New York to, to basically engage the court system and start the case,” Agnifilo said.

Though the indictment had not been unsealed at the time of his comments, Agnifilo said they knew what the charges would be and that Combs is “innocent of these charges.”

The news of Combs’ arrest and indictment comes 10 months after allegations of sexual and other abuse against the music mogul, and an announcement from prosecutors that he was being investigated for sex trafficking.

Here’s a look at some of the key moments:

• November 16, 2023: The singer Cassie says in a lawsuit that Combs subjected her to years of abuse, including beatings and rape.
• November 17, 2023: With staggering speed, Ventura’s lawsuit is settled the day after it is filed. The terms of the agreement are kept confidential.
• November 23, 2023: Two more women accuse Combs of sexual abuse in lawsuits filed on the eve of the expiration of the Adult Survivors Act, a New York law permitting victims of sexual abuse a one-year window to file civil action regardless of the statute of limitations.
• November 28, 2023: Combs temporarily steps down as chairman of his cable television network, Revolt, because of a wave of sexual abuse allegations. It would be one of several business setbacks for Combs brought on by the lawsuits.
• March 25, 2024: Homeland Security Investigations serves search warrants in early morning raids on Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami in what officials tell The Associated Press is a sex-trafficking investigation.

▶ Read the full timeline of events leading to Combs’ arrest

Combs is accused of hitting, kicking and throwing objects at victims, causing injuries that often took days or weeks to heal. The indictment alleges Combs also sometimes threw people, or choked and shoved them and even dragged them by their hair.

Prosecutors say his employees and associates witnessed his violence and, rather than intervening, helped him cover it up, including by preventing victims from leaving, and locating and contacting victims who attempted to flee.

The indictment says that during searches of Combs’ homes in Miami and L.A. around March 2024, law enforcement seized firearms and ammunition, including “three AR-15s with defaced serial numbers.”

They also found narcotics and “more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant,” prosecutors said.

The indictment addresses the March 2016 assault on Cassie Ventura that was captured on security video.

“When a member of the hotel security staff intervened,” the indictment said, Combs “attempted to bribe the staff member to ensure silence.”

▶ Read more about the video

The indictment says Combs gave victims drugs to keep them “obedient and compliant” and wielded his “power and prestige” to “intimidate, threaten, and lure” women into his orbit, “often under the pretense of a romantic relationship.”

He exerted control over victims by promising career opportunities, providing and threatening to withhold financial support, dictating how they looked, monitoring their health records and controlling where they lived, according to prosecutors

Marc Agnifilo said outside the Manhattan federal courthouse earlier Tuesday that his client is innocent and would plead not guilty.

“Obviously, he’s going to fight this with all of his energy and all of his might and the full confidence of his lawyers,” said Agnifilo. “And I expect a long battle with a good result for Mr. Combs.”

Agnifilo added that Combs had come to New York City two weeks ago “because we knew this day was going to come. And it’s here.”

Prosecutors allege Combs used force, threats and coercion to get victims to engage in acts with male sex workers that he called “Freak Offs,” which were often recorded and could last days.

Combs’ employees facilitated “Freak Offs” by arranging travel, booking hotel rooms where they would take place and stocking those rooms with supplies, including drugs, baby oil, lubricants, extra linens and lighting, scheduling the delivery of IV fluids, and then cleaning the rooms afterward, the indictment said.

Detailing allegations dating to 2008, the indictment accuses Combs of abusing, threatening and coercing women for years “to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.”

The indictment describes Combs as the head of a criminal enterprise engaged in or attempting to engage in activities including sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, drug offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.

▶ AP reporters are reading through the indictment now. Keep following for the latest updates.

Sean “Diddy” Combs has been indicted on federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges.

The indictment against the music mogul was unsealed Tuesday. He had been arrested late Monday in Manhattan, roughly six months after federal authorities conducting a sex trafficking investigation raided his luxurious homes in Los Angeles and Miami.

Over the past year, Combs has been sued by people who say he subjected them to physical or sexual abuse. He has denied many of those allegations, and his lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said outside the courthouse Tuesday morning that Combs would plead not guilty.

▶ Read more about the arrest and indictment of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs