Sean “Diddy” Combs remains in jail after being denied bail for the second time

In this courtroom sketch, Sean Combs (seated right) looks toward his attorney, Marc Agnifilo (left), as he presents his bail plea, while Combs' family in the public gallery in the background raises their hands to indicate to Judge Tarnofsky that they are present to support the defense attorney's bail plea, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in Manhattan Federal Court in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

New York — Sean “Diddy” Combs will remain in prison after a judge on Wednesday rejected the hip-hop mogul's proposal to await his sex trafficking trial at his luxurious Florida mansion instead of at a grim federal prison in Brooklyn.

U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter ruled that Combs' plan – which included a $50 million bail offer, GPS monitoring and strict visitor restrictions – was “inadequate” to ensure the safety of the community and the integrity of his case.

Carter joined prosecutors who fought to keep Combs in prison, concluding that “no condition or set of conditions” for his release could protect him from the risk that he would threaten or harm witnesses – a central charge in his case.

Combs' attorneys were making a second attempt in three days to free him from the Metropolitan Detention Center, where he has been held since he pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges that he physically and sexually abused women over a period of years.

Combs has been in federal custody since his arrest Monday night at a Manhattan hotel. A federal judge denied Combs' initial request for bail on Tuesday. On Wednesday, he and his lawyers argued with Carter, the judge who will preside over his trial.

Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo says he will now ask the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn Carter's ruling and release Combs. In the meantime, he wants Combs transferred from the Brooklyn jail, which is plagued by rampant violence and horrific conditions, to a prison in New Jersey. Carter said decisions about placement rest solely with the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

“I will not let him stay in prison a day longer than necessary,” Agnifilo told reporters outside the courtroom.

Combs looked at his family members and tapped his heart valve several times as the hearing began Wednesday. Then he sat stoically and listened to the arguments. Afterward, as federal agents led him away, his relatives hugged and clapped each other solemnly.

Combs, 54, is accused in the indictment of abusing his “power and prestige” to lure female victims and male sex workers into elaborately staged drugged sexual performances known as “freak offs.” Combs arranged, participated in and often videotaped them. The events sometimes lasted several days, and Combs and his victims were often given intravenous fluids to help them recover, the indictment says.

The indictment alleges that Combs, with the help of a network of accomplices and associates, coerced and abused women for years, while also using extortion and acts of violence such as kidnapping, arson and assault to prevent the victims from speaking out.

Prosecutor Emily Johnson argued for Combs to be kept in prison, telling Carter that the once-celebrated rapper had a long history of intimidating both accusers and witnesses to his alleged abuse. She cited text messages from women who said Combs forced them to have “freak offs” and then threatened to release videos of them engaging in sexual acts.

Johnson said Combs' defense team “trivializes and terribly understates” his propensity for violence. He criticized his attorney's portrayal of a 2016 robbery at a Los Angeles hotel as a lovers' quarrel. Surveillance video of the incident, which only came to light in May, shows Combs punching and kicking his then-girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie, in a hotel hallway.

“What does love have to do with it?” asked an incredulous Carter.

Johnson also referenced a text message from a woman who said Combs dragged her down a hallway by her hair. According to Johnson, the woman told the rapper, “I'm not a rag doll, I'm somebody's child.”

“There is a long-standing pattern of abuse here,” Johnson said.

Combs' Florida home is on Star Island, a man-made piece of land in Biscayne Bay near Miami Beach that is only accessible by causeway or boat. It is one of the most expensive places to live in the U.S. Combs' request is similar to that of a long line of wealthy defendants who have offered to post millions in bail in exchange for house arrest in luxurious surroundings.

If Combs had been released on bail, he would have been required to stay in his home and limited visits to family, caretakers and friends who are not considered co-conspirators, his lawyers said. After prosecutors obtained a search warrant for Combs' private security chief on Tuesday, his lawyers offered to hire a new firm to monitor him and make sure he complies with the proposed agreement.

Carter remained unmoved and questioned the plan as a “supposedly foolproof system”.

Many of the allegations in Combs' indictment match those in a lawsuit filed in November by Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura and who grew up in New London. Combs settled the lawsuit the next day, but the allegations have dogged him ever since.

The AP does not typically name people who report sexual abuse unless they come forward publicly, like Ventura.

While Agnifilo did not mention Ventura by name, he was clearly referring to her. He argued that the entire criminal case was the result of a long-standing, difficult but consensual relationship that was disrupted by infidelity. The “freak offs,” he claimed, were an extension of that relationship, not coercion.

“Sex and violence were completely separate and had completely different motives,” Agnifilo said, claiming Combs and Cassie brought sex workers into their relationship because “this was the way these two adults wanted to be intimate.”

Prosecutors made the case more extensive. They said they had interviewed more than 50 victims and witnesses.

Like many aging hip-hop figures, Bad Boy Records founder Combs had built a softer public image for himself. The father of seven was a respected businessman whose annual “White Party” in the Hamptons was once a must-attend event for the jet-setting elite.

But prosecutors said he committed his crimes using the same companies, people and methods that brought him to power. They said they would prove the charges with financial and travel records, electronic communications data and videos of the “freak offs.”

In March, authorities raided Combs' homes in Los Angeles and Florida, seizing drugs, videos and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, prosecutors said. They said agents also seized guns and ammunition, including three AR-15s with obscured serial numbers.

If convicted on each of these charges, the sentence is 15 years in prison or possibly life imprisonment.

FILE – Sean 'Diddy' Combs participates in “The Four” panel during the FOX Television Critics Association winter press tour in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 4, 2018. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams speaks about the federal sex trafficking and organized crime charges against Sean “Diddy” Combs during a news conference Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

In this courtroom sketch, Sean Combs, center, is flanked by defense attorney Marc Agnifilo, left, and Teny Garagos in Manhattan Federal Court, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

From left: King Combs, Quincy Brown and Justin Dior Combs arrive at federal court in Manhattan in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Marc Agnifilo, attorney for Sean “Diddy” Combs, arrives at federal court in Manhattan in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

FILE – Sean “Diddy” Combs appears at the premiere of “Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A Bad Boy Story” on June 21, 2017 in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

Marc Agnifilo, attorney for Sean “Diddy” Combs, arrives at federal court in Manhattan in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams speaks about the federal sex trafficking and organized crime charges against Sean “Diddy” Combs during a news conference Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Marc Agnifilo, attorney for Sean “Diddy” Combs, arrives at federal court in Manhattan in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

From right: Justin Dior Combs, Quincy Brown and King Combs arrive at federal court in Manhattan in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)