Diddy Must Stay In Jail Until Sentencing, Feds Say: ‘Defendant Poses a Danger to Others’

Federal prosecutors are firing back at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ request to be released on bail ahead of his October sentencing, telling the judge that he has “extensive history of violence” and must remain in jail.

Combs was acquitted last month on the most serious charges he faced over drug-fueled sex marathons called “freak-offs,” but was convicted on two lesser prostitution counts. His lawyers are currently pushing to throw out those convictions – or at the very least secure his release until sentencing.

But in a response filing late Thursday, prosecutors argue that Diddy must remain in jail until his October court date. They say nothing has changed since the judge previously denied bail – and if anything, the trial showed how violent the star can be.

“The trial record is replete with evidence of the defendant’s acts of violence towards others,” prosecutors write. “The defendant’s decade-long relationship with [Cassie Ventura] was defined by his repeated acts of violence and abuse. The defendant’s temper and violence were unpredictable.”

In the filing, prosecutors highlight an alleged attack on an unnamed girlfriend (identified as Jane) in June 2024, during which Diddy allegedly “picked her up in a chokehold” and “punched her in the face twice” before kicking her repeatedly while she was on the ground.

“The fact that the defendant committed this vicious attack just three months prior to his arrest — and while he was unambiguously aware that he was under federal investigation — highlights, as the court concluded, ‘a disregard for the rule of law and the propensity for violence’,” prosecutors write, quoting the judge’s earlier ruling.

Combs was arrested and charged last year with racketeering (RICO) and sex trafficking violations over accusations that he ran a sprawling criminal operation aimed at facilitating the freak-offs — elaborate events which he allegedly forced his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura and other women to have sex with male escorts while he watched and masturbated.

But following a blockbuster trial in May and June, a jury cleared Combs on the RICO and sex trafficking charges. The rapper was found guilty on two other counts for transporting Ventura, another woman and various sex workers across state lines for the purposes of prostitution.

Combs will face sentencing on those convictions in October; sentencing guidelines suggest he’ll likely receive between two and five years in prison.

On Monday, his lawyers pushed for his release until sentencing, arguing that prostitution customers, or “johns,” are essentially never incarcerated like he’s been. Then on Thursday, they asked the judge to overturn the convictions entirely – calling them an “unprecedented” application of federal prostitution laws, and potentially a violation of Diddy’s constitutional rights.

Friday’s filing from prosecutors dealt only with the bail request, but it also hinted how they might respond to the broader arguments challenging Combs’ convictions as an unusually aggressive application of the federal laws at issue.

“The defendant spills much ink explaining why the underlying facts of his convictions make his continued incarceration ‘exceptional,’” prosecutors write. “However, the defendant’s arguments are baseless, misleading, and run counter to the clear intent expressed by Congress.”