Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs received a standing ovation from fellow inmates after being acquitted of serious federal charges including sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
The verdict, delivered last Wednesday, marked a significant win for the high-profile entrepreneur and his legal team, though he remains in custody on lesser prostitution-related convictions.
Combs, 55, has been held at a federal detention centre in Brooklyn since his arrest, which followed high-profile raids on his homes in Los Angeles and Miami in March 2024.
The trial, which spanned two months, saw nearly three dozen witnesses testify, including former employees.
Combs’ lawyers, led by seasoned attorney Marc Agnifilo, employed a bold strategy that openly acknowledged Combs’ turbulent personal life—including drug use, jealousy, and a swinger lifestyle—but insisted these behaviours were not criminal.
“You may think he is a really bad boyfriend,” defence lawyer Teny Geragos told jurors, “but that is simply not sex trafficking.”
Agnifilo said the defence chose honesty over deflection, aiming to prevent jurors from conflating personal misconduct with organised criminality.
“We had to tell the jury what it was so they wouldn’t think it was something it wasn’t,” he said.
Despite the partial conviction, the acquittal on the most serious charges brought a rare sense of triumph among inmates and legal observers alike.
“They all said: ‘We never get to see anyone who beats the government,’” Agnifilo told reporters, quoting inmates’ reactions.
Combs’ legal team is now preparing a bail application as sentencing looms. Any prison time will include credit for the nearly 10 months he has already served.
