Sean Combs pleads not guilty to human trafficking charges

Sean “Diddy” Combs was ordered held pending trial on Tuesday after he pleaded not guilty to charges including sex trafficking and extortion.

On Tuesday morning, the government unsealed a three-count indictment charging Combs with various crimes related to an alleged decades-long pattern of physical and sexual violence against women in his orbit. Federal prosecutors charged him with human trafficking and extortion for running a massive criminal enterprise that assaulted and trafficked women through his various businesses since at least 2008.

Combs requested bail set at $50 million, secured by the equity in his Miami mansion and his mother’s. He suggested house arrest with GPS monitoring and confinement to parts of Florida, New York and New Jersey, primarily to attend pending court proceedings and medical appointments.

The government opposed bail, saying he posed an ongoing security risk and might try to tamper with the case or flee.

The indictment accuses Combs of repeatedly committing violent crimes, including assault, arson and brandishing a firearm. For example, in December 2011, he and an accomplice kidnapped an unknown person at gunpoint so they could break into a residence, according to prosecutors’ documents. About two weeks later, members of the alleged gang set the person’s car on fire with a Molotov cocktail.

That person is believed to be Kid Cudi, who confirmed allegations in the lawsuit by Casanda Ventura, better known as Cassie, that Combs set the rapper’s car on fire.

Prosecutors have emphasized that Combs had access to firearms. During a March raid on his home, law enforcement seized several weapons, including three AR-15 rifles, each with defaced serial numbers, according to the indictment.

The government said Combs has a “propensity for violence” that makes him unfit for release. “No bail conditions can address the defendant’s propensity to become violent when angry or emotional: anyone in his presence is at risk of abuse or assault,” the filing said.

Prosecutors also opposed bail, arguing that Combs would likely obstruct the proceedings, citing that he bribed hotel security to prevent them from releasing video of his assault on Ventura.

Recently, Combs and his associates allegedly contacted potential witnesses in the investigation and instructed them to lie to cover up his alleged crimes. In one conversation, which took place just three days after he was sent to Ventura, the tycoon asked the victim to be his “friend” and told her she “didn’t have to worry about a thing” if she agreed with his story.

The government further alleged that Combs posed a significant flight risk because of his considerable assets. He said he had access to dozens of bank accounts, some personal and many corporate, that contained millions of dollars, as well as more than $1 million in personal cash.

The filing said that if Combs “wanted to flee, he has the money, manpower and tools to do so quickly and without detection.”

In response, the tycoon said his ability to escape was limited because he had surrendered his passport and was in talks to sell the plane. He also said he had moved to New York before his arrest to surrender himself.