Sean “Diddy” Combs told his family “I’ll be home soon” after being acquitted of the most serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking that could have meant life in prison.
The jury convicted Combs of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution after less than three days of deliberation and an initial split verdict on Tuesday.
Those two charges carry a maximum 10-year prison sentence each with no minimum, meaning Combs could potentially walk free.
The verdict breakdown:
- Count 1: Racketeering conspiracy – Not Guilty
- Count 2: Sex trafficking of Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura – Not Guilty
- Count 3: Sex trafficking of “Jane” – Not Guilty
- Count 4: Transportation to engage in prostitution (Cassandra Ventura) – Guilty
- Count 5: Transportation to engage in prostitution (“Jane”) – Guilty
Combs pumped his right fist in celebration and embraced his family and defense counsel after the jury acquitted him of the most serious charges.
He smiled, put his hands together in prayer, and mouthed to the jury, “Thank you. Thank you,” according to The New York Times.
Marc Agnifilo, Combs’ lead defense attorney, immediately asked Judge Arun Subramanian to release his client ahead of sentencing.
“Mr. Combs has been given his life by this jury,” Agnifilo argued.
The defense proposed Combs be released to his Miami home with conditions and offered a $1 million bond.
Lead US Attorney Maurene Comey vehemently opposed the defense’s proposal.
“A person found guilty shall be detained until the judicial officer finds he is not likely to flee or be a danger,” Comey argued.
Agnifilo countered that his client would be “nothing short of a fool” to breach any bail conditions.
The bail hearing was initially scheduled for 1 pm but was pushed back to 5 pm EST.
As US Marshals escorted Combs from the courtroom, he told his family “I’ll be home soon” and “I love you.
He then shouted “Dream Team” in the direction of his defense counsel, referencing his lawyers.
The 55-year-old music mogul covered his eyes and appeared to exhale in relief when the not-guilty verdicts were announced.
He did a subtle fist pump when “not guilty” was announced for the second sex trafficking charge.
When a deputy polled jurors about whether the verdict was correct, Combs craned his neck to look at them.
After defense attorney Marc Agnifilo argued for Combs’ release, the judge asked, “Mr. Combs does not want to go back to the MDC?”
Combs vigorously nodded his head ‘no’ and made prayer hands, referencing New York City’s Metropolitan Detention Center.
Outside the US District Courthouse in Lower Manhattan, supporters of Combs celebrated by pouring baby oil on one another.
A shirtless man danced outside federal court to show his joy for Combs.
A woman in a bikini followed with her own celebratory dance, removing her wig while a man drizzled baby oil on her from a nearby ledge.
Combs’ use of baby oil in various sex acts was a frequent topic of testimony during the trial.
The New York Police Department increased its presence outside the courthouse following the verdict.
By finding Combs not guilty on the sex trafficking charges, jurors essentially said there wasn’t proof beyond reasonable doubt that Cassie Ventura and “Jane” were coerced.
Both sex trafficking counts carried 15-year minimum sentences and possibly life, making the acquittals a huge victory for Combs.
CNN legal analyst Elie Honig, a former assistant US attorney for the Southern District of New York, said Combs has “won” this case.
“He has defeated the Southern District of New York, which, I worked there — they don’t like losing in court,” Honig said.
They don’t lose in court a lot. And there’s no way to spin this.”
The jury had initially struggled to reach consensus on the racketeering charge, sending a note Tuesday saying they had “jurors with unpersuadable opinions on both sides.
Judge Subramanian instructed them to continue deliberating, leading to Wednesday’s full verdict.
Prosecutors said they will seek consecutive 10-year terms for Combs’ two guilty counts, though the actual sentence remains to be determined.
In a letter to the judge, prosecutors argued Combs should serve more than four years and remain locked up without bail until sentencing.
They cited him as a flight risk and danger to the community based on “yearslong pattern of abuse and violence.”
Defense attorney Alexandra Shapiro argued in a letter that detaining Combs after his acquittal on the serious charges would be “inappropriate.”
“Throughout these proceedings, Mr. Combs’s family has been seated by his side,” Shapiro wrote.
“He needs and wants to be with — and remain with — his family.”
Cassie Ventura’s lawyer Douglas Wigdor told CNN there were “mixed emotions” in the courtroom.
“Obviously, we would’ve liked to have seen convictions on the RICO charges and the sex-trafficking charges,” Wigdor said.
“But Cassie prompted this investigation by the Southern District and now Sean Combs stands before this court as a convicted felon.”
The trial featured six weeks of testimony including accounts from Ventura and another ex-girlfriend who testified as “Jane.”
Witnesses described Combs’ “freak-offs” and showed the infamous 2016 video of him beating Ventura in a hotel hallway.
While Combs’ federal trial has concluded, he still faces numerous civil lawsuits.
Defense attorney Misty Marris noted Combs won’t have the same Fifth Amendment protections in civil cases.
The verdict sparked intense reactions on social media, with some criticizing the justice system’s treatment of women.
One user wrote the acquittal on top charges is “a representation how evil our system is to women.”
Dream Hampton, executive producer of “Surviving R. Kelly,” said she wonders about the broader conversation following the acquittals.
Color of Change condemned the verdict, with Interim Director Arisha Hatch saying it’s “not just a stain on a criminal justice system.”
The organization said it stands with the “brave women and men” who testified against Combs.
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Image credit:
Sean Combs, Cannes 2012. Photo by Georges Biard, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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