Following his grand jury indictment, the American rapper was brought into jail by Homeland Security Investigations around 8:15 p.m. on Monday, September 16, at the Park Hyatt Hotel on 57th Street in Manhattan.
Although the allegations and the indictment are under seal, Mr. Combs’ attorney, Marc Agnifilo, stated he thought the client was facing accusations related to sex trafficking and racketeering.
“We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe to be an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the US Attorney’s Office,” he said in a statement. He continued by saying that Combs had been to New York last week in case the accusations were filed. Agnifilo stated, “He is not a criminal; he is an imperfect person.”
When Homeland Security Investigations agents raided Combs’ houses in Miami and Los Angeles on March 25 and filed simultaneous search warrants, it became clear that the federal government was looking into Combs. His arrest coincides with an ongoing federal investigation and a flurry of lawsuits alleging sexual assault against him.
The R&B singer Cassie, who was once his protégé and lover, filed the first of multiple lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault against him in November of last year. Cassie claimed years of abuse, including rape and beatings, in her complaint filed in November.
Combs was accused in her lawsuit of being involved in sex trafficking by “harboring and transportation of Plaintiff for purposes of sex induced by force, fraud, or coercion” and “requiring her to engage in forced sexual acts in multiple jurisdictions.” It said that he forced her to assist him in trafficking in male prostitutes. Cassie would be made to have sex by Combs while he was filming. The next day, the lawsuit was settled.
The lawsuit was settled, but after CNN was able to get a video purportedly showing Combs striking and kicking Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel corridor on March 5, 2016, Combs later issued an apology for his actions. At least six more people, two of whom were women, filed lawsuits after Cassie.
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