Sean 'Diddy' Combs arrested in New York following federal grand jury indictment
He has previously been sued by multiple women for allegations of abuse
WARNING: This article includes accounts and imagery of sexual and domestic violence and may be distressing for some readers. Resources for support are listed at the end of this article.
Update: Since publishing three charges have been made against Diddy.
Sean Combs AKA Diddy has been arrested in New York City after being indicted by a federal grand jury.
The rap artist has been charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
A representative told Sky News that Diddy was detained by officers late on Monday (September 16) at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan with the arrest "based on a sealed indictment".
The BBC reports that it has been alleged in the indictment that he created a "criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in, and attempted to engage in, among other crimes, sex trafficking, forced labour, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice".
The 14-page indictment against Combs alleges he used verbal, emotional, physical and sexual abuse against victims.
It also claims he "ensured participation from the women by, among other things, obtaining and distributing narcotics to them, controlling their careers, leveraging his financial support and threatening to cut off the same, and using intimidation and violence".
In a statement to The New York Times, his lawyer Marc Agnifilo shared: “We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr Combs by the US Attorney’s Office.
"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.
"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."
Agnifilo added: “He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal”.
The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, confirmed the arrest in a statement.
Williams’ statement reads: “Earlier this evening, federal agents arrested Sean Combs, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY. We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.”
Last year, Diddy was accused of rape, physical abuse, and sex trafficking by his ex-girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie, in a major lawsuit last year — which was settled just one day after it was filed.
Since November 2023 the 54-year-old has been sued eight times on accusations of sexual misconduct with the artist denying the allegations, including two more women coming forward a week after the suit with Cassie was settled.
In March this year, Diddy’s homes in Miami and Los Angeles were raided by federal agents amid ongoing investigations into sex trafficking.
Later in May, in an investigation by Rolling Stone, dozens of Diddy’s former friends, employees, and Bad Boy artists alleged "abusive and violent" behaviour from the US rapper.
The latest lawsuit was filed last week on September 11 by former Danity Kane member Dawn Richard, accusing the 54-year-old for sexual assault and battery, alleging that he “belittled, terrorized and sexually abused her” for years, including depriving her of food and sleep.
The UK's 24-hour free-to-call National Domestic Abuse Helpline can be contacted by dialling 0808 2000 247
The US 24-hour National Domestic Violence Hotline can be contacted by dialling 1.800.799.SAFE (7233)
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Becky Buckle is Mixmag's Multimedia Editor, follow her on Twitter
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