FIRING BACK
Diddy’s rep slams raids as ‘unprecedented ambush’ with new pics showing busted open safe and rooms torn apart at mansion
The rapper's accused 'drug mule' was arrested while Diddy's homes were raided
A LAWYER for Sean 'Diddy' Combs has labeled raids at the rapper's mansions as an unprecedented ambush while vowing that his name will be cleared.
Diddy's attorney, Aaron Dyer, blasted the raids by Homeland Security as an "overuse of military-level force" in his team's first remarks since federal agents stormed the properties.
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His comments came as footage obtained by TMZ showed documents ripped from drawers, safe doors hanging wide open, and furniture lying on its side in the hip-hop mogul's Holmby Hills home in California.
"Yesterday, there was a gross overuse of military-level force as search warrants were executed at Mr. Combs' residence," Dyer told TMZ.
"There is no excuse for the excessive show of force and hostility exhibited by authorities or the way his children and employees were treated."
Dyer went on to clarify that Combs "was never detained but spoke to and cooperated with authorities."
He also insisted the rapper was free to travel after his private jet was spotted at St John's Airport in Antigua on Tuesday.
"Despite media speculation, neither Mr. Combs nor any of his family members have been arrested nor has their ability to travel been restricted in any way," Dyer said.
"This unprecedented ambush - paired with an advanced, coordinated media presence - leads to a premature rush to judgment of Mr. Combs and is nothing more than a witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits.
"There has been no finding of criminal or civil liability with any of these allegations.
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"Mr. Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every single day to clear his name."
'EVIDENCE' SEIZED
Two of Diddy's homes were raided on Monday afternoon by the feds.
Inside Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ multimillion-dollar mansions with underwater tunnel & private dock that cops raided by boat
The homes in Miami and in California were searched as part of a federal investigation into sex trafficking allegations, The Associated Press reported.
As the raids were happening, law enforcement sources told NBC News that four people were interviewed by police in Manhattan over allegations of sex trafficking, sexual assault, and the solicitation and distribution of illegal narcotics and firearms.
Three other people were scheduled for interviews, per the outlet.
Homeland Security has been tight-lipped about what agents were searching for but video showed them hauling laptops and big boxes out of Diddy's Miami Beach mansions.
On Tuesday, footage obtained by TMZ showed the rapper's California mansion turned upside down in the raid.
Cabinets were thrown open and papers, clothes, and other items were scattered around the home.
An entertainment system adorned with awards, including three Grammy's, sat open and empty.
The stunning police action followed a lawsuit by Diddy's ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura, better known as Cassie.
She accused him in November of last year of sexually abusing and assaulting her throughout their relationship, claiming that she endured “a cycle of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking” until their relationship ended in 2018.
Diddy and Cassie settled the suit the day after it was filed.
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'DRUG MULE' ARRESTED
Diddy's accused "drug mule" Brendon Paul, 25, was arrested at a Miami airport during the feds' raid on the rapper's homes.
Paul was detained on Monday after Diddy was stopped at Opa Locka Airport in Florida, according to reports.
He was arrested on two drug possession charges after law enforcement stopped Diddy's private jet and seized suspected drugs in Paul's travel bags.
In his mugshot, Paul wore a blue hoodie and sported disheveled hair and a slit eyebrow.
He has since bonded out of jail.
Paul was named in Rodney Jones' recent complaint against Diddy.
Jones alleged in the February lawsuit that during his time with the producer, he had hours of videos and audio of Combs, his staff, and others “engaging in serious illegal activity," per NBC News.
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Jones identified Paul as a close confidant of Diddy's and someone who allegedly handled the rapper's drugs and guns.
Photos of the pair were included in the complaint.
Recent lawsuits against Diddy
Diddy was hit with a wave of lawsuits in late 2023 and early 2024 with shocking allegations of sex trafficking and sexual assault. He has denied all claims against him.
- Cassie, Diddy's longtime girlfriend, sued him in November 2023, claiming she endured “a cycle of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking” until their relationship ended in 2018. Diddy and Cassie settled the suit the day after it was filed.
- Diddy was hit with two more lawsuits a week later. Joi Dickerson accused Diddy of drugging and raping her and filming the attack when she was a 19-year-old college student in January 1991.
- A second accuser in a separate lawsuit claimed that Diddy and another man sexually assaulted her and a friend in 1990 or 1991 then showed up at her apartment and beat her several days later.
- Diddy was sued again in December by a woman who claimed he and two men gang-raped her in 2003 when she was 17 years old.
- In February 2024, Rodney 'Lil Rod' Jones, who helped produce Diddy's most recent album, claimed that the mogul sexually harassed, drugged, and threatened him from September 2022 to November 2023 as they worked together.
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