Federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) raided rapper Sean Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami in connection to a federal human trafficking investigation.
“Earlier today, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami, and our local law enforcement partners,” Homeland Security Investigations said in a statement.
Law enforcement officials were executing search warrants issued from the Southern District of New York (SDNY). They entered the homes heavily armed and, according to reports, dragged multiple individuals out of the homes in handcuffs.
According to Business and Politics, two of the men removed from the California residence were the rapper’s sons, 30-year-old Justin and 25-year-old King.
The raids on the Combs’ homes followed a series of lawsuits filed against him in SDNY with plaintiffs alleging that Combs had assaulted them.
The initial lawsuit was filed by his then-girlfriend Cassandra Ventura who accused him of assault. That case was settled one day after it was filed. One of the other women who filed an assault lawsuit against the rapper alleges that she was just 17 at the time the events took place.
Four lawsuits have been filed against Combs in total.
Diddy, as the rapper is commonly known, denied all of the claims against him in December of last year, stating on Twitter: “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, I HAVE SAT SILENTLY AND WATCHED PEOPLE TRY TO ASSASSINATE MY CHARACTER, DESTROY MY REPUTATION AND MY LEGACY.”
“SICKENING ALLEGATIONS HAVE BEEN MADE AGAINST ME BY INDIVIDUALS LOOKING FOR A QUICK PAYDAY. LET ME BE ABSOLUTELY CLEAR: I DID NOT DO ANY OF THE AWFUL THINGS BEING ALLEGED. I WILL FIGHT FOR MY NAME, MY FAMILY AND FOR THE TRUTH.”
— LOVE (@Diddy) December 6, 2023
Neither Diddy nor his representatives have said anything about yesterday’s raids, and it is still unclear if Diddy himself is the target of the federal agents’ investigations.
“Hopefully, this is the beginning of a process that will hold Mr. Combs responsible for his depraved conduct,” stated Ventura’s lawyer Douglas Wigdor.
