Combs’ arrest was announced by his defense attorney after the hip-hop star was taken away in handcuffs at a midtown hotel by Homeland Security Investigations agents. Combs is expected to appear in federal court in lower Manhattan Tuesday afternoon amid a sex trafficking-related federal criminal investigation. NBC New York’s Jonathan Dienst reports.
Sean "Diddy" Combs, a hip-hop kingmaker and three-time Grammy winner, was arrested in New York City on Monday by federal authorities in New York City, according to his attorney.
Agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) carried out the arrest in Manhattan on Monday, sources familiar with the matter told NBC New York. Combs was arrested in the lobby of a hotel, a representative told NBC News.
In a statement released late Monday night, Combs' attorney Marc Agnifilo said they were "disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution," calling the entertainment star "an imperfect person but is not criminal."
It was not immediately clear what charges Combs would face, but Agnifilo said that the charges were coming from the U.S. Attorney's Office, indicating federal charges would be filed.
"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," the statement from Agnifilo read. "These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court."
Spokespersons from Homeland Security Investigations declined to comment. Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, confirmed in a post on X that "earlier this evening, federal agents arrested Sean Combs, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY." Williams added that they expect to unseal the indictment Tuesday morning.
Williams is expected to hold a press conference at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Combs is scheduled to appear in court in lower Manhattan on charges that appear to be in relation to allegations of sex trafficking, sexual assault and the solicitation and distribution of illegal narcotics and firearms
Combs, 54, has been under federal investigation since at least March 2024 when HSI executed search warrants at Combs' properties. At the time of those searches, NBC News reported that three women and a man had been interviewed by federal officials in Manhattan in relation to the aforementioned allegations against Combs.
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Those search warrants had also been part of an investigation led by the U.S Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
HSI officials seized phones from Combs in Miami before he was scheduled to depart for a trip to the Bahamas, according to three law enforcement sources familiar with the warrants. Combs was in the Miami area when federal authorities executed the searches, sources said.
In May, Combs apologized after a video, obtained by CNN, showed him beating his then girlfriend Cassandra "Cassie" Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.
In a video apology posted to his Instagram, Combs admitted to the incident and said he took "full responsibility."
"It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that," Combs said. "I was f---ed up — I mean, I hit rock bottom — but I make no excuses."
Combs initially denied Ventura's allegations of assault and sex trafficking which she described in a federal lawsuit filed in November. The two settled for an undisclosed amount the following day.
At the time of Combs' admission of the assault, an attorney for Ventura, Meredith Firetog, said, "When Cassie and multiple other women came forward, he denied everything and suggested that his victims were looking for a payday."
Firetog added, “That he was only compelled to ‘apologize’ once his repeated denials were proven false shows his pathetic desperation."
The former music executive has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime.
Chloe Melas of NBC News contributed to this report.
