The music mogul was arrested Monday night in New York City by federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations.
‘Diddy’ Combs arrested in NYC amid sex trafficking investigation
A federal grand jury in Manhattan returned an indictment against Combs, which set in motion his arrest.
Combs was arrested at the Park Hyatt hotel in Midtown Manhattan, sources said. He will spend the night in federal custody before he is brought to court for arraignment Tuesday, sources told ABC News.
UPDATE: Sean "Diddy" Combs arrested, charged with sex trafficking in federal indictment:
Combs was hit with federal charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, according to the three-count indictment unsealed early Tuesday.
The mogul “for decades … abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct,” the indictment said.
“To do so, Combs relied on the employees, resources, and influence of the multi-faceted business empire that he led and controlled — creating a criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in, and attempted to engage in, among other crimes, sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice.”
The 54-year-old Hip-hop mogul was taken into custody according to The New York Times, following several months of ongoing sexual assault and sex trafficking allegations against him.
Combs' lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, addressed the news in a statement, calling it "an unjust prosecution."
"We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office," Combs' lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said in a statement to PEOPLE. "Sean 'Diddy' Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man, and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children, and working to uplift the Black community. He is an imperfect person but he Is not a criminal."
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.
Combs has also been accused of a long pattern of domestic violence against his former partner, R&B singer Cassie Ventura. She sued him in November and the pair quickly settled. But a distressing video of him assaulting Ventura in a hotel hallway in 2016 recently resurfaced — prompting a new round of backlash.
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