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Sean “Diddy” Combs was indicted on charges of racketeering conspiracy; sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion; and transportation to engage in prostitution, Manhattan Federal Court papers unsealed on Tuesday, September 17, reveal. Unpack the arrest, indictment, Combs’s court appearance, and a big swing from Diddy’s defense team .

What happened when Diddy appeared in court?

Less than one day after his arrest, Diddy entered a New York City courtroom just before 2:30 p.m. wearing taupe-gray athletic pants and a black T-shirt. As Combs walked to sit between his lawyers at the defense table, he carried his arms in a way that pantomimed being handcuffed, even though his wrists were not restrained in any way. When asked whether he was ready to enter a plea, Combs stood, adjusted the microphone, and said, “Not guilty.” The judge overseeing this proceeding, Robyn Tarnofsky, declined to release Combs on bond. He will be jailed while awaiting trial.

Tarnofsky’s decision on bail was in keeping with federal prosecutors’ request for him to be jailed pending trial. In a letter to the judge, prosecutors argued that Combs might flee and “there is no condition, or combination of conditions, that will reasonably assure the appearance of the defendant as required and the safety of others and the community, not to mention the integrity of the proceedings.” They reiterated the same arguments in court.

What’s next for Diddy?

If convicted, Combs faces up to life in prison. Combs’ lawyer pushed for his release pending trial, suggesting a bail package that would include a $50 million bond and home detention.

What was revealed in the unsealed indictment?

The indictment outlines a harrowing history of abuse spanning “decades.”  Federal prosecutors allege that Combs “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.” Combs, using his employees, used his business empire to create a “criminal enterprise.” Federal prosecutors allege that Combs verbally, emotionally, physically, and sexually abused women — and even “manipulated women to participate in highly orchestrated performance of sexual activity with male commercial sex workers.” Combs kept these women under his thumb by doling out drugs, controlling their careers, and wielding his financial power over them.

Are Cassie’s allegations mentioned at all?

The indictment appears to directly invoke Casandra “Cassie” Ventura’s allegations against Combs in a November 16, 2023, lawsuit that prompted more women to speak out against him — though she is not mentioned by name. Ventura, who had accused him of rape and a decade of abuse throughout their relationship, described how he had complete control over her life. While Cassie settled her suit against Combs one day later, surveillance video emerged on May 17, 2024, showing him physically attacking her at a hotel in 2016. The indictment, describing Combs’s alleged abuse, listed “one instance at a Los Angeles hotel in or about March 2016, which was captured on video and later publicly reported, where Combs kicked, dragged, and threw a vase at a woman as she was attempting to leave.”

What are ‘freak off’ parties?

The Feds said that the purpose of Combs’s enterprise — which is why there’s a racketeering-conspiracy charge — included his abuse of women with other forms of violence. When the Feds raided Combs’s houses in Miami and Los Angeles in March 2024, they found extensive evidence of “freak offs.” The Feds also claimed to have seized three AR-15 assault rifles with damaged serial numbers and a drum magazine.

Federal prosecutors further detailed the alleged sex parties where, they say, much of this abuse occurred with the direct involvement of his associates. After luring women into his world, often under the fake auspices of a romantic relationship, he would force them to perform in what he called “freak offs,” per prosecutors. The freak offs “were elaborate and produced sex performances that Combs arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded,” which happened routinely and sometimes spanned multiple days. When the freak offs ended, prosecutors note, Combs and his victims “typically received IV fluids to recover from the physical exertion and drug use.”

Wasn’t there something about thousands of bottles of lubricant and baby oil?

Yes. In the March raid, they found drugs and “more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant,” court papers said. As for the male sex workers, they were allegedly at the center of these freak offs. Combs wielded force and threats to make his victims participate in “extended sex acts with male commercial sex workers,” per the indictment.

How is this racketeering?

Prosecutors claim that Combs used his vast network and business resources to carry out his alleged crimes. They referred to the alleged criminal organization as the “Combs enterprise.” The organization ran an international media and entertainment business — including Bad Boy Records — and was “preserving, protecting, promoting, and enhancing the power” and “reputation” of Combs. He and members of this organization lined their pockets while carrying out numerous crimes, prosecutors charge. Combs and his cronies allegedly maintained this power with violence including abuse. Combs did so by wielding an iron fist, exacting loyalty from his underlings with violence and threats. The Feds list kidnapping, arson, bribery, and drug distribution as crimes in the racketeering count.

How has the industry responded?

Shyne, the rapper who went to prison for ten years after a nightclub shooting, spoke on September 18 about Diddy’s character. In 1999, Diddy, Jennifer Lopez, and Shyne were all arrested after a nightclub shooting left three injured. Only Shyne, now the leader of the opposition in the Belize House of Representatives, did time for the incident. “When I was an 18-year-old kid just wanting to do nothing other than make my mother proud and make Belize proud and be recognized for my talent and take over the world,” he said in a statement obtained by Billboard, “I was defending him, and he turned around and called witnesses to testify against me. He contributed … he pretty much sent me to prison.”

What is Diddy’s defense doing?

On October 9, lawyers for Combs moved to have the video of Diddy assaulting Cassie suppressed. In a filing, they accused the government of leaking the hotel surveillance footage in order to “raise public hostility against Mr. Combs in advance of trial,” per docs obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. Specifically, they accuse the Department of Homeland Security of leaking the footage, which first appeared on CNN, in order to secure an indictment. If a judge agrees the government leaked the video, they move to dismiss the case.

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