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Was Sean Diddy Combs Arrested? All We Know About Puff Daddy's Status After Grand Jury Indictment
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, who faces sexual assault and sex trafficking charges, was arrested on September 16. His indictment is sealed as of writing this article, so the specific charges remain unknown.
Trigger Warning: This article includes references to sexual abuse
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, who has faced multiple sexual assault charges alongside sex trafficking investigation by federal teams, was arrested on Monday, September 16, evening at a Manhattan hotel, per The New York Times. The unfavorable move on the music mogul’s part came after a grand jury indicted him, the publication reports.
Formal accusations against Diddy are sealed at the moment, and the charges that prompted his arrest have not yet been announced. However, Marc Agnifilo, a lawyer representing the troubled musician, said he believes he was charged with racketeering and sex trafficking.
Combs's legal team expressed their disappointment with the decision to prosecute their client in a detailed statement, highlighting that he has been cooperative throughout the investigation which includes his voluntary relocation to New York last week.
In their statement, Combs’s lawyers described Diddy as “a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man, and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children, and working to uplift the Black community.”
The law practitioners representing him acknowledged his imperfections but denied that he was a criminal.
Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, meanwhile, said in a statement posted on X on Monday that they expect to move to unseal Diddy’s indictment in the morning, following which they will have more to say.
Per Mr. Agnifilo, Combs, 54, was arrested by officers with Homeland Security Investigations at about 8:30 p.m. from the Park Hyatt New York hotel on 57th Street. He indicated that Combs is expected to be held overnight and then arraigned on Tuesday.
Combs, for those unfamiliar with him, was a key figure in the hip-hop scene in the 1990s and 2000s, as he helped make stars of rappers and R&B singers like the Notorious B.I.G. and Mary J. Blige. He, however, came under intense public scrutiny after Casandra Ventura’s lawsuit last November. Ventura, an R&B singer and Diddy’s ex-girlfriend accused him of sexual and physical abuse in her filing, but she settled the case with him outside of court within a day.
Legal pressure on Diddy, however, kept mounting over the following months with the filing of five lawsuits by women alleging sexual assault and three other sexual misconduct suits, all of which his lawyers are contesting in court. This March, federal agents raided Combs’s homes in LA and Miami.
Though the authorities made no announcements at the time, a federal official, per NYT, said the inquiry was in part a human trafficking investigation as federal prosecutors had, by the time, interviewed many witnesses about sexual misconduct allegations against Combs, who is also known as P. Diddy or Puff Daddy.
Combs has vigorously denied the accusations in the civil suits, calling them “sickening allegations” from people looking for “a quick payday.” His lawyers, meanwhile, bluntly criticized the raids at his property by Homeland Security Investigations, calling them a “gross overuse of military-level force.”
The tone of defiance, however, became defensive after CNN in May published hotel security footage of Combs physically assaulting Ventura in 2016. Following the release of the tape, Combs issued an apology video via his social media, identifying himself in the video and calling his actions in the past “inexcusable.”
Ventura also spoke out, encouraging people to trust victims when they first come forward with their experiences.
If you need support or know someone who is struggling with domestic violence or assault or abuse, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist, NGO or speak to someone about it. There are several helplines available for the same.
ALSO READ: Sean Diddy Combs: All Work Rapper Lost Amid Ongoing Assault Allegations and Cases
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