Hip-hop kingmaker and three-time Grammy Award winner Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested by federal authorities in New York City on Monday, his lawyer said.
Agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) made the arrest in Manhattan on Monday, a source familiar with the matter told NBC New York. Combs was arrested in a hotel lobby, a source told NBC News.
Combs’ lawyer, Mark Anifilo, said in a statement late Monday night that he was “disappointed by the decision in what we believe to be an unjust prosecution” and called the showbiz star “an imperfect human being but not a criminal.”
It was not immediately clear what charges Combs will face, but Anifilo said the charges came from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, indicating he will be prosecuted under federal law.
“To his credit, Mr. Combs has been extremely cooperative with this investigation and voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of the charges. We ask that you reserve judgment until all the facts are known,” Anifilo’s statement read. “This is the act of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
A spokesperson for Homeland Security Investigations declined to comment. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damien Williams confirmed in a post on X that “federal agents arrested Sean Combs earlier this evening pursuant to a sealed indictment filed by the Southern District of New York.” Williams added that the indictment is expected to be unsealed on Tuesday morning.
Williams is scheduled to hold a press conference at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Combs is scheduled to appear in court in lower Manhattan on charges of sex trafficking, sexual assault and soliciting and distributing illegal drugs and firearms.
Combs, 54, has been the subject of a federal investigation since at least March 2024, when HSI executed a search warrant at Combs’ property. At the time of the raid, NBC News reported that three women and one man were being questioned by federal authorities in Manhattan in connection with the aforementioned charges against Combs.
The search warrants were also part of an investigation led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
HSI agents seized a cellphone from Combs in Miami before he departed for a trip to the Bahamas, according to three law enforcement officials familiar with the warrant. Combs was in the Miami area when federal authorities conducted the search, the officials said.
Cassie Ventura has broken her silence. After Sean “Diddy” Combs apologized on social media over the weekend for his “inexcusable” behavior in a 2016 hotel security footage that showed him appearing to assault his ex-girlfriend, the “Me and You” singer released a statement on Instagram on May 23.
In May, Combs apologized after a video obtained by CNN showed him beating his then-girlfriend, Cassandra “Cathy” Ventura, at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.
In an apology video posted to his Instagram, Combs acknowledged the incident and said he “takes full responsibility.”
“It’s very hard to look back on the darkest times of your life, but sometimes you have to,” Combs said. “I was at my worst. I mean, I hit rock bottom. But I’m not making excuses.”
Combs initially denied assault and sex trafficking charges filed by Ventura in a federal lawsuit in November, and the two settled the following day for an undisclosed amount.
At the time Combs admitted to the assaults, his Ventura lawyer, Meredith Firetog, said, “When Cathy and other women came forward, he denied all charges and suggested the victims were only interested in him for money.”
Firetog added: “That he was only forced to ‘apologise’ after his repeated denials were proven false shows his pathetic desperation.”
The former music executive has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and has not been charged with any crime.
NBC News’ Chloe Melas contributed to this report.
