Why was Diddy arrested? Latest on the case – NBC Chicago

Sean “Diddy” Combs was sent to jail on Tuesday to await trial. But why exactly was he arrested and what is the current status?

The big move comes 10 months after ongoing public allegations against the music mogul. His lawyer says he is innocent and he has pleaded not guilty.

Here's a look at what we know so far:

Why was “Diddy” arrested?

Combs was arrested and held without bail in federal court on charges of human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. He is accused of running a sordid sex crime empire protected by racketeering and shocking acts of violence.

The music mogul is accused of conspiracy to commit organized crime and sex trafficking. The indictment against him lists allegations dating back to 2008.

He is accused of luring female victims and male sex workers into drugged sexual performances known as “freak offs,” sometimes lasting days. The indictment also indirectly references an attack on his former girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie, that was captured on video.

The Bad Boy Records founder is accused of sexually abusing and physically assaulting women. He enlisted the help of his personal assistants, security guards and domestic staff to help him cover it all up. Prosecutors say he also tried to bribe and intimidate witnesses and victims to keep them silent.

“Simply put, he is a serial offender and a serial blocker,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson said in court.

Prosecutors said in court documents that they have already interviewed more than 50 victims and witnesses and expect the number to grow. They said they would use financial, travel and billing records, electronic data and communications, and videos of the “freak offs” to prove their case.

Combs was arrested in Manhattan on Monday, about six months after federal authorities raided his luxury homes in Los Angeles and Miami.

A conviction on each of these counts would require a prison sentence of at least 15 years, and possibly life imprisonment.

The indictment describes Combs as the head of a criminal organization that was involved or attempted to be involved in sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for the purpose of prostitution, drug offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.

Combs and his associates used his “power and prestige” to intimidate and seduce women, “often under the guise of a romantic relationship,” the indictment states.

It says he then used violence, threats and coercion to get the women to participate in “freak offs” with male sex workers – “elaborate and staged sex performances” that Combs arranged and recorded, and of which dozens of videos were created.

He ensured their participation by obtaining and providing drugs, controlling their careers, leveraging his financial support and using intimidation and violence, the indictment says. It says his associates facilitated “freak offs” by taking on tasks such as travel and hotel arrangements and supplying them with supplies such as medications and baby oil.

The incidents lasted several days and Combs and the victims were often given intravenous fluids to recover from the exertion and drug use, the indictment says.

During searches of Combs' homes earlier this year, prosecutors seized narcotics, videos of performances and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, according to prosecutors. They said officers also seized firearms and ammunition, including three AR-15s with obliterated serial numbers, from his Miami bedroom closet.

The indictment says Combs choked, shoved, punched and kicked people, causing injuries that often took days or weeks to heal. His co-workers and colleagues sometimes prevented victims from leaving or tracked down those who tried to do so, the indictment says.

Combs allegedly used explicit recordings as “collateral” to force the women's obedience and silence. According to the indictment, he also exercised control over his victims by promising them career opportunities, providing them with financial support and threatening to withhold it, dictating how they should look, monitoring their medical records and controlling where they lived.

When the threat of prosecution loomed, Combs and his accomplices pressured witnesses and victims to remain silent, offered them bribes and provided false accounts of events, the indictment says.

In a court document, prosecutors accused Combs and an unidentified accomplice of kidnapping a person at gunpoint in December 2011 to facilitate a burglary of another person's home. Two weeks later, prosecutors wrote, Combs set fire to another person's vehicle by cutting open the convertible top and throwing a Molotov cocktail inside.

All of this, prosecutors said, happened behind the facade of Combs' global music, lifestyle and clothing company.

In November, Ventura filed a lawsuit claiming he beat and raped her for years. She accused Combs of forcing her and others to have unwanted sex in drug-related situations.

The lawsuit was settled within a day, but months later, CNN aired hotel security footage showing Combs punching, kicking and throwing Ventura to the ground. After the video aired, Combs apologized, saying, “I was disgusted when I did that.”

The indictment refers to the attack, but does not name Ventura, and says Combs tried to bribe a hotel security guard to keep quiet about it.

Douglas Wigdor, an attorney for Ventura, declined to comment Tuesday.

What did Combs and his lawyer say?

“Not guilty,” Combs said in court this week.

After U.S. Judge Robyn Tarnofsky denied him bail, Combs took a long drink from a water bottle and was then led out of the courtroom, facing his family members in the audience.

“Mr. Combs is a fighter. He will fight to the end. He is innocent,” said his lawyer Marc Agnifilo after the hearing. He plans to appeal the bail decision.

“Simply put, he is a serial offender and a serial blocker,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson said in court.

Agnifilo acknowledged that Combs was “not a perfect person” and said he had used drugs and been in “toxic relationships” but was in treatment and therapy.

“The evidence in this case is extremely problematic,” the lawyer told the court.

He claimed the case stemmed from a long-term, consensual relationship that faltered due to infidelity. He did not name the woman, but the details matched those of Combs' 10-year relationship with Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura.

Agnifilo claimed that the “freak offs” were an extension of that relationship and did not represent coercion.

“Is this sex trafficking? Not if everyone wants to be involved,” Agnifilo said, arguing that authorities were invading his client's private life.

Combs' attorney said the guns found in his bedroom closet were not his property, pointing out that he works for a security company.

Combs and his lawyers also denied similar allegations made by others in a series of lawsuits.

Who is Sean “Diddy” Combs?

Combs is widely considered one of the most influential figures in hip hop.

Combs is one of the most well-known music managers, producers and artists in hip hop. He has won three Grammys and has worked with artists such as Notorious BIG, Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil Kim, Faith Evans and 112. In 1993, he founded Bad Boy Records, the influential Sean John clothing line, a vodka brand and the television network Revolt. In June of this year, he sold his share in the latter company.

In the 2000s, he produced the MTV reality series “Making the Band” and “Making His Band,” launching the careers of artists like girl group Danity Kane while embodying a kind of feisty “grandiose television personality,” as AD Carson, an associate professor of hip-hop at the University of Virginia, points out.

It's been 17 years since Combs had a top 10 hit — in 2007, “Last Night,” featuring Keisha Cole, peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Still, his career and cultural contributions continue to be celebrated. In 2022, Combs received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BET Awards. Last year, he performed at the MTV VMAs and released his fifth studio album, “The Love Album: Off the Grid,” his first new album since 2006's chart-topper “Press Play.”

“The Love Album” was nominated for Best Progressive R&B Album at the Grammy Awards. Combs was not present.

Where is Combs in prison?

Combs, 54, was taken to Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center on Tuesday – a place that has been described as “hell on earth” and “ongoing tragedy.”

The facility, the only federal prison in New York City, has been plagued by problems since it opened in the 1990s. In recent years, conditions there have been so bad that some judges have refused to send people there. It has also been home to a number of high-profile inmates, including R. Kelly, Ghislaine Maxwell and cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried.

In a statement, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said, “We also take the staffing and other challenges at MDC Brooklyn very seriously.” An agency team is working to resolve the problems, including by hiring permanent correctional and medical staff, processing more than 700 overdue maintenance requests and answering questions from judges.

A judge on Wednesday rejected a request by Combs' lawyers to keep him under house arrest at his $48 million mansion on an island in Miami Beach, Florida, to await his trial.

Combs' lawyers argued in documents seeking his release that the Metropolitan Detention Center was not appropriate for pretrial detention, citing recent inmate deaths and concerns shared by judges that prison was no place to hold anyone.

When asked why a high-profile inmate like Combs should remain incarcerated, especially in light of Epstein's death in 2019, Manhattan-based U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said, “We are concerned about the safety of all people who are detained prior to trial.”

“I make no connection whatsoever between Jeffrey Epstein's suicide and what may or may not happen to other defendants while in custody,” he added.

Combs' attorney said Wednesday that the rapper is being held in a special housing unit at MDC Brooklyn, which provides extra security but can make trial preparations more cumbersome. He requested that Combs be transferred to a New Jersey prison, but a judge said the decision rests with the Bureau of Prisons.