A lawyer for Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was photographed in 2018, said the entertainment mogul was the subject of a “witch hunt based on baseless accusations made in a civil lawsuit.”
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Willy San Juan/Invision/AP
A lawyer for Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was photographed in 2018, said the entertainment mogul was the subject of a “witch hunt based on baseless accusations made in a civil lawsuit.”
Willy San Juan/Invision/AP
Lawyers for Sean “Diddy” Combs were arrested Monday by Homeland Security Investigations agents as they swept Los Angeles and Miami properties associated with the rapper to collect evidence in an ongoing investigation. It said authorities used excessive force in an “unprecedented ambush.”
“Yesterday, a search warrant was executed at Mr. Combs' residence, resulting in excessive use of military-level force,” Combs' attorney Aaron Dreyer said in an emailed statement Tuesday. “There is no excuse for the excessive use of force and hostility shown by authorities or the treatment of his children and employees.”
Video footage taken by Fox 11 in Los Angeles shows the two briefly handcuffed outside the residence listed in legal documents as Combs' residence. The two were later identified as the sons of hip-hop moguls Justin Combs and Christian “King” Combs, according to Fox 11.
Dryer also mentioned an exchange between Combs and officials at a Miami-area airport Monday afternoon.
The 54-year-old was seen walking outside Miami Opa Locka Executive Airport, accompanied by several family members, The New York Times reported. Combs was stopped by federal agents and “numerous electronic devices were taken from him,” the report said.
Dryer said Combs was not detained during the exchange and cooperated with authorities. The attorney said that neither Combs nor his family “have been arrested or have their travels restricted in any way.”
Homeland Security Investigations has released little information about the raid or the broader investigation or whether Combs is a target of it, saying that HSI New York is “an ongoing investigation with support from HSI Los Angeles.” “We have taken law enforcement action as part of our investigation.” HSI Miami and local law enforcement partners. ”
Dyer said law enforcement's actions “led to a premature rush to sentencing for Mr. Combs and amounted to nothing less than a witch hunt based on baseless accusations made in a civil lawsuit.”
It added: “No criminal or civil liability has been found for any of these allegations. Mr. Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every day to clear his name.”
The raid comes amid multiple civil lawsuits filed in recent months accusing Combs and those in his inner circle of sex trafficking, sexual assault, including rape, and domestic violence. .
The latest version of the lawsuit brought by Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, the producer behind Combs' latest film, was updated on Monday to include actor Cuba Gooding Jr. as a defendant. Gooding Jr. did not respond to requests for comment.
Jones alleges in the complaint that Combs repeatedly groped Jones while working on the album, and that the rapper forced Jones to recruit sex workers and take illegal drugs. Jones added that Gooding also sexually harassed and assaulted her.
A separate civil lawsuit from November 2023 alleges singer Kathy Ventura, who signed a 10-album deal with Combs' Bad Boy Entertainment when she was 19 years old, is accused of years of sexual misconduct, harassment and sexual harassment. He accused Combs of trafficking and rape. The lawsuit was settled the day after it was filed.
Mr. Combs has not been criminally charged with any of the charges.
