Diddy Gets Standing Ovation from Inmates After Acquittal on Federal Charges

Sean “Diddy” Combs received a standing ovation from fellow inmates after returning to jail, following his acquittal on serious federal charges—an emotional moment his lawyer believes may have been one of the most empowering for incarcerated Black men in America.

“They all said: ‘We never get to see anyone who beats the government,’” said Marc Agnifilo, Combs’ attorney, in an interview with The Associated Press. The music mogul, 55, was recently acquitted by a Manhattan federal jury of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges, though he remains in custody following a conviction on prostitution-related offenses.

Despite his legal victory, Combs is still behind bars at a federal detention center in Brooklyn and faces a potential sentence that could keep him imprisoned for several more years. He has already spent nearly 10 months in custody, time that will count toward any future sentence.

After federal agents raided Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and the Miami area in March 2024, Agnifilo said he warned his client that sex trafficking charges were imminent. “I said: ‘Maybe it’s your fate in life to be the guy who wins,’” Agnifilo recalled. “They need to see that someone can win. I think he took that to heart.”

The high-profile trial, which spanned two months and featured nearly three dozen witnesses, saw Combs actively participating in his defense, passing notes during cross-examinations—some of which involved former employees.

In court, Combs’ defense took a blunt, direct approach. “You may think to yourself, wow, he is a really bad boyfriend,” said defense attorney Teny Geragos during opening statements in May. “But that,” she added, “is simply not sex trafficking.”

Agnifilo said the defense had to get ahead of the government’s narrative: “The violence was so clear and up front and we knew the government was going to try to confuse the jury into thinking it was part of a sex trafficking effort. So we had to tell the jury what it was so they wouldn’t think it was something it wasn’t.”

The defense team faced uncertainty when jurors initially announced they were deadlocked on the racketeering charge but had reached a verdict on sex trafficking and lesser offenses. A judge asked the jury to continue deliberating.

“No one knows what to think,” said Agnifilo. But that night, he said he had a feeling. “I wake up at three in the morning and I text Teny and say: ‘We have to get a bail application together,’” he recalled. “It’s going to be a good verdict for us but I think he went down on the prostitution counts so let’s try to get him out.”

Agnifilo said he encouraged the legal team to stay optimistic. “I kind of whipped everybody into feeling better,” he said, believing the jury’s split decision favored them.

Before the final verdict, he met with Combs, who entered court the next day in better spirits—smiling, praying with his family, and eventually mouthing “thank you” to jurors after hearing the decision. The courtroom erupted with applause, and members of the defense team were hailed as the “Dream Team,” with some moved to tears.

“This was a major victory for the defense and a major loss for the prosecution,” said Mitchell Epner, a former federal prosecutor who once worked alongside Agnifilo. He credited the outcome to “a dream team of defense lawyers” who took on federal prosecutors known for their high conviction rates.

Throughout the trial, Combs’ legal team minimized the weight of the charges, arguing that prosecutors were overreaching. “The case against Combs was what happens when the federal government comes into our bedrooms,” Agnifilo argued back in September when seeking bail.

In court, the defense relied heavily on cross-examination and called no witnesses, with Combs opting not to testify. Sarah Krissoff, who served as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan for over a decade, described the defense’s approach as “masterful.”

Ironically, Agnifilo had once helped expand the use of racketeering laws as a federal prosecutor. “I knew the weak points in the statute,” he said. “The statute is very mechanical. If you know how the car works, you know where the fail points are.”

In this case, he argued, the prosecution had “dozens of fail points.” “They didn’t have a conspiracy, they just didn’t,” Agnifilo said. “They basically had Combs’ personal life and tried to build racketeering around personal assistants.”

Even some of those assistants, after viewing footage of Combs assaulting his longtime girlfriend, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, had positive things to say during cross-examination.

Combs, according to his lawyer, is focused on confronting his past. “He’s doing OK,” said Agnifilo, noting that they speak four or five times daily. “He realizes he has flaws like everyone else that he never worked on.”

“He burns hot in all matters,” Agnifilo continued. “I think what he has come to see is that he has these flaws and there’s no amount of fame and no amount of fortune” that can erase them. “You can’t cover them up.”

The chaotic day in court ended with an unexpected twist: as Combs’ bail was denied, a man near the courtroom suffered a seizure.

“I’m like: ‘What the hell?’” said Agnifilo, who immediately stepped in. With help from his law partner Jacob Kaplan and his daughter, he stabilized the man, placing him on his side and preventing him from choking.

“We made sure he didn’t choke on vomit. It was crazy. I was worried about him,” he said, recalling the surreal end to an already intense day. “It was like I was getting punked by God.”