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A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Sean “Diddy” Combs sent to prison ahead of his criminal trial after prosecutors argued he may try to flee the country or interfere with an investigation into sex trafficking charges.
Magistrate Judge Robin Tarnowski denied bail for Combs during a hearing in Manhattan federal court.
The judge cited Combs’ history of violence, but prosecutors said his acts of violence were “both spontaneous and premeditated.”
“I don’t know if I can control myself,” Tarnowski said.
In an indictment unsealed Tuesday, prosecutors in the Southern District of New York charged Combs with sex trafficking, organized criminal conspiracy and illegal transportation of prostitution. Prosecutors say Combs manipulated and pressured his victims into participating in “freak-offs,” elaborate “sex performances” in which Combs would masturbate and record himself. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Ann Johnson said at a hearing on Tuesday that prosecutors obtained some of the videos through a search warrant.
Combs, who was wearing a black T-shirt and sweatpants at the hearing, was arrested at 8:25 p.m. Monday night at his hotel, prosecutors said.
The rapper was escorted into the courtroom by U.S. marshals on Tuesday, his feet moving restlessly as he sat in the defense seat.
Combs, who remained expressionless throughout much of the hearing and occasionally sipped from a Fiji water bottle, faces life in prison if convicted.
At trial, Combs pleaded not guilty to the three felony charges against him.
During an afternoon court appearance, Combs’ lawyer, Mark Anifilo, offered $50 million bail to keep him from going to jail before his trial. Holding a stack of six passports for Combs and five of his family members, Anifilo said the rapper plans to sell his private jet to show he isn’t a flight risk.
On the other hand, the prosecution His letter submitted to the court Johnson argued that Combs should remain incarcerated for using his “vast wealth” to “engage in manipulative and disruptive behavior to avoid punishment for his own criminal conduct,” and likened him to Jeffrey Epstein, R. Kelly and Keith Raniere, all of whom have been arrested and remain incarcerated in recent years on sex trafficking charges.
In addition to being known as a rapper and record producer, Combs is a serial entrepreneur who has founded fashion and media companies and served as a brand ambassador for Ciroc vodka. Prosecutors estimated his net worth at about $1 billion and said he had a private jet and $1 million in cash to help him flee the country.
“In short, the Defendants have the funds, personnel and tools to escape quickly and undetected if they wanted to do so,” prosecutors wrote in the filing.
Didi tried to silence witnesses, prosecutors say
Combs’ lawyer, Agnifilo, said at the hearing that Combs had made efforts to keep prosecutors informed of his whereabouts throughout the investigation into his conduct, avoiding international travel and even notifying prosecutors in advance of a rafting trip he took over the summer.
Prosecutors said Combs could engage in witness tampering if released. Johnson said Combs and his associates contacted witnesses in the investigation and tried to get them to change their testimony, including “gaslighting” them to present a different version of events.
Most of the bail offered by Combs’ lawyers was secured by his Miami home, which is estimated to be worth $48 million.
“Sean Combs has never shirked, avoided, evaded or fled from a challenge in his life,” his lawyers wrote in the letter. “He does not intend to start now.”
Prosecutors wrote that Combs had previously pressured security guards to keep quiet about his activities.
In a March 2016 incident, prosecutors said Combs attempted to bribe a hotel security guard after he was “observed on surveillance video punching, kicking and dragging a woman in a public area of ​​the hotel” — an apparent reference to R&B singer Cassie Ventura.
“When hotel security intervened, the defendant attempted to offer the hotel security a large sum of money to silence him,” prosecutors wrote. “When the security refused the defendant’s bribe and, after coordination between the defendant and the employee, the defendant’s staff contacted other security personnel at the hotel.”
At the hearing, Anifilo maintained that “Freak Off” and Combs’ relationships with Ventura were entirely consensual. He called their 10-year relationship “mutually toxic” and said they had multiple affairs.
“This ‘sex trafficking’ relationship spanned a decade,” Anifilo said. “They were in love.”
Agnifilo said Ventura demanded that Combs pay him $30 million to stay quiet about their relationship. The lawyer said a “flood of other lawsuits” were filed against Combs after Combs settled a civil lawsuit Ventura filed in November 2023.
Prosecutors argued in the letter that Combs’ abuse continues despite the ongoing criminal investigation.
“The defendant continued to physically assault and threaten those around him, including his girlfriend, employees, and others who happened to be present when he became enraged,” prosecutors wrote. “No bail condition will address the defendant’s propensity to become violent when angry or emotional. Anyone in the presence of him is at risk of abuse and assault.”