New video footage reveals the moment of Sean “Diddy” Combs arrest for federal sex trafficking charges in a Manhattan hotel lobby.
Source: ANGELA WEISS / Getty
Diddy’s downfall played out in lawsuits, courtrooms, headlines, and even federal raids. Yet it was hard to imagine what could be the larger-than-life figure’s last moments of freedom until now. TMZ secured surveillance footage of federal agents swarming Diddy and his entourage to take him into custody.
On Monday evening, the disgraced mogul and members of his crew were walking into the lobby of the Park Hyatt New York hotel. Several men surrounded Diddy, who wore a black trench coat. As soon as he stepped foot inside, two agents flagged him down. His associates all looked confused as law enforcement escorted him away from the group.
Diddy came to New York City expecting an indictment from the federal grand jury. However, he reportedly planned to surrender himself on Tuesday. The feds pouncing on Monday night clearly caught him and his team completely off-guard.
When the clip continues, Diddy is already in handcuffs as the men lead him away to an elevator. The perp walk continued through the front doors of the hotel where Diddy was just hanging out moments before the arrest. Those agents cut short what looked like a final victory lap.
As BOSSIP previously reported, Diddy faces charges of “racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution.” Despite repeated pleas to release the music mogul while he awaits trial, the judge denied Diddy bail again on Thursday.
Prosecutors strongly argued against his release, alleging that Diddy tampered with witnesses. Judge Tarnofsky’s ruling deemed that the Bad Boy founder was a threat to public safety and people testifying the case against him. The court documents also allege “forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.”
For now, he remains behind bars on suicide watch at the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York City. Some reactions suspected these reports were to drum up sympathy for the alleged repeat “Freakoff” offender. However, his attorney, Marc Agnifilo, set the record straight that Diddy is “not at all suicidal.”
The lawyer clarified to TMZ that this suicide watch is a routine measure for high-profile prisoners like Diddy. Instead, he claims that his client is still “strong, healthy, confident and focused on his defense.”
And BOSSIP is focused on covering updates as this story develops…