Sean 'Diddy' Combs arrested in Manhattan following indictment amid sex trafficking probe

Sean 'Diddy' Combs was arrested Monday night in New York City following an indictment from a grand jury.

A person familiar with the indictment confirmed the legal action against the 54-year-old musical impresario, according to The New York Times; but it was not immediately clear what the charge or charges were in his indictment.

Combs was arrested by Homeland Security officials at a midtown Manhattan hotel late Monday, law enforcement sources told TMZ, and transported to the FBI's Manhattan field office.

Authorities had planned on arresting Combs on Tuesday, 'but something happened that caused' federal officials to take him into custody earlier than planned, an official told the outlet.

Federal officials had been searching the room in which they apprehended Combs, according to TMZ, citing 'unconfirmed reports.'

Diddy's attorney Marc Agnifilo released a statement to DailyMail.com which read: '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.

'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. 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. 

Agnifilo added: '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.'

Monday evening's indictment comes less than six months after the music mogul's homes in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by federal authorities March 25. (TMZ noted that Monday's high-profile arrest had been apparently connected to the probes).

Combs, who has also been known as Diddy and Puff Daddy, has been in the limelight for most of the past year, after he swiftly settled a lawsuit from his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura late last year, in which she claimed he engaged in sex trafficking and abused her.

A video of him attacking her in 2016 in a Los Angeles hotel room circulated this past May, leading him to say that he'd 'hit rock bottom' and made 'no excuses' for his 'inexcusable' conduct depicted in the clip, adding that he takes 'full responsibility.' 

Combs, then known as Puff Daddy, was at the center of the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop battles of the 1990s as the partner and producer of the Notorious B.I.G., who was shot and killed in 1997. 

But like many of those who survived the era, his public image had softened with age into a genteel host of parties in Hollywood and the Hamptons, a fashion-forward businessman, and a doting father who spoiled his kids, some of whom lost their mother in 2018.

But a different image began emerging in November, when his former protege and girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, became the first of several people to sue him for sexual abuse with stories of a steady stream of sex workers in drug-fueled settings where some of those involved were coerced or cajoled into sex.

In her November lawsuit, Cassie alleged years of abuse, including beatings and rape. 

Her suit also alleged Combs engaged in sex trafficking by 'requiring her to engage in forced sexual acts in multiple jurisdictions' and by engaging in 'harboring and transportation of Plaintiff for purposes of sex induced by force, fraud, or coercion.' 

It also said he compelled her to help him traffic male sex workers Combs would force Cassie to have sex with while he filmed.

The suit was settled settled the following day, but its reverberations would last far longer. Combs lost lingering allies, supporters and those reserving judgment when CNN in May aired a leaked video of him punching Cassie, kicking her and throwing her on the floor in a hotel hallway.

The following day, in his first real acknowledgement of wrongdoing since the stream of allegations began, Combs posted a social media video apologizing, saying 'I was disgusted when I did it' and 'I'm disgusted now.' 

Cassie's lawsuit was followed by at least a half-dozen others in the ensuing months.

In February, a music producer filed a lawsuit alleging Combs coerced him to solicit prostitutes and pressured him to have sex with them.

Another of Combs' accusers was a woman who said the rap producer raped her two decades ago when she was 17.

Another woman who filed a lawsuit, April Lampos, said she was a college student in 1994 when she met Combs and a series of 'terrifying sexual encounters' with Combs and those around him began that lasted for years.

Combs and his attorneys denied nearly all of the lawsuits' allegations.

While authorities did not publicly say that the lawsuits set off the criminal investigation, Dyer said when the warrants were served that the case was based on 'meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits.'

The AP does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly as Cassie and Lampros did.

As the founder of Bad Boy Records, Combs became one of the most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past three decades Along with the Notorious B.I.G. he worked with a slew of top-tier artists including Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil Kim, Faith Evans and 112.

Combs' roles in his businesses beyond music — including lucrative private-label spirits, a media company and the Sean John Fashion line — took major hits when the allegations arose.

The consequences were even greater when the leaked beating video emerged. Howard University cut ties with him, and he returned his key to the city of New York at the request of the mayor.