Authorities charged Sean “Diddy” Combs with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and more following a months-long investigation against the rapper.
Combs was arrested Monday by federal agents based on a sealed indictment, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York confirmed. The rapper was charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force fraud or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution in the indictment unsealed Tuesday.
“His spirits are good. He’s confident,” Diddy’s attorney Marc Agnifilo said outside the courthouse Tuesday morning. “He is dealing with this head on, the way he’s dealt with every challenge in his life. And he’s not guilty. He’s innocent of these charges. He’s going to 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. And I expect a long battle with a good result for Mr. Combs.”
“I’m going to fight like hell to get him released, and he should be released,” Agnifilo said. “With all that he’s done and coming here voluntarily.”
SEAN ‘DIDDY’ COMBS ARRESTED FOLLOWING RAIDS, HUMAN TRAFFICKING INVESTIGATION
WATCH: SEAN ‘DIDDY’ COMBS’ LAWYER SPEAKS AHEAD OF ARRAIGNMENT
Sean Combs was arrested Monday in New York City. (Getty Images)
FOX NATION SPECIAL EXPLORES SEAN ‘DIDDY’ COMBS INVESTIGATION, RAIDS
The “I’ll Be Missing You” singer was arrested in a New York City hotel lobby, a source familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital.
Diddy’s legal team slammed the charges as an “unjust prosecution” in a statement shared with Fox News Digital.
“Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is 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. He is an imperfect person but he is not a criminal,” Marc Agnifilo said in a statement.
“To his credit Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges,” the statement continued. “Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
Sean Combs’ LA home was raided by Homeland Security officials in March. (Getty Images)
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Homeland Security agents raided Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami in connection to a federal human trafficking investigation on March 25, officials confirmed to Fox News Digital at the time.
Diddy faces a mountain of legal claims after multiple women accused him of sexual assault beginning in November 2023. Cassie, legally known as Casandra Ventura, alleged she endured “over a decade” of Diddy’s “violent behavior and disturbed demands” in a lawsuit. Combs and his ex-girlfriend settled the matter a day later outside of court.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and Cassie split for the last time in 2018, following years of an on-again off-again relationship. (Getty Images)
Three more women came forward with claims just before New York’s Adult Survivors Act expired in December.
Diddy was also sued by music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones in February. Jones accused the rapper of forcing him to perform sexual acts with prostitutes in his lawsuit obtained by Fox News Digital.
He faces a handful of additional sexual abuse lawsuits, all of which he has denied.
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Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Los Angeles and Miami homes were raided in March as part of a human trafficking investigation. (Jordan Strauss)
Amid his legal troubles, Diddy stepped down as chairman of his cable network Revolt in November.
“This decision helps to ensure that Revolt remains steadfastly focused on our mission to create meaningful content for the culture and amplify the voices of all Black people throughout this country and African diaspora,” the network said in a statement.
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Fox News Digital’s Tracy Wright contributed to this report.
Source: www.foxnews.com