Sean “Diddy” Combs entered the courtroom in a canary yellow sweater with his head down. He smiled at his family. Just moments earlier, he and his attorneys had all gathered behind closed doors. The mood was tense as it was clear the mogul’s fate would soon be clear.
At 10.12 a.m. on Wednesday, Judge Arun Subramanian announced he had received a note from the jury: “We’ve reached a verdict on all counts.”
The courtroom pews were fully packed. Subramanian calmly told the energized room to “maintain order.” The jury entered three minutes later to announce the verdict everyone in the courthouse, and many others far beyond, had been waiting to hear.
Outside of the courthouse, a lone reporter yelled out, “Verdict!”
Suddenly, a rush of people entered the barricades where journalists were set up broadcast cameras. Combs’ fans, the devoted trial live-streamers, reporters, and tourists who were passing by, then smushed into the area, holding their collective breath while waiting for the decision.
For the first time all morning, the sidewalk in front of the federal courthouse was quiet. With phones held above their heads, the crowd of people leaned in as one man read aloud the verdict.
The jury found Combs guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, relieving him of the three more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking.
Inside, as each of the 12 jurors confirmed to the court this was the “true and correct verdict,” Diddy nodded in their direction. He held the hand of Teny Geragos, one of his defense attorneys, as the verdict was read.
The rapper’s fists moved up and down victoriously before he turned to the jury box and repeatedly pressed his hands together in prayer. His defense attorneys appeared equally thrilled; they sat next to him beaming — a dramatic shift in emotion after a trial that highlighted so many dark moments in the mogul’s life.
Combs then turned around in his chair and nodded at his family, sitting in the second row. He stood up, tilted his head to the sky, put his hands on his face, and wiped it in relief.
Marc Agnifilo, Combs’ lead attorney, argued his client should be released from the Metropolitan Detention Center, where he’s been held since September. “Mr. Combs has been given his life by this jury,” he said. He won’t “run afoul” the opportunities this court has granted him, Agnifilo said.
“Mr. Combs doesn’t want to go back to the MDC?” the judge asked. Diddy shook his head vigorously before flashing prayer hands to the judge.
As the court adjourned for attorneys to discuss his bail application, the mogul turned to his family, fell to his hands and knees, leaned against a chair and prayed. Diddy’s final trial appearance ended like he ended one of his shows; the courtroom burst into whoops and cheers and applause.
It took a moment for the crowd outside to understand what the verdict meant.
Since the beginning of the trial, many of Combs’ fans were confident he would be acquitted on all charges, believing the accusations against him were targeted because of his race or wealth.
“I want him to be acquitted because (Cassie) took the money,” one Combs fan said before the verdict was announced.
But still, hearing “not guilty” for most of the charges appeared to stun many.
A wave of low murmurs came over the crowd as they tried to recall what each count meant.
“He beat the f***ing RICO!” One man yelled while running around the corner to deliver the good news.
“He beat the RICO!” He repeated.
The the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, was originally written to combat organized crime and has been used in recent cases against R. Kelly, Young Thug, street gang members and President Donald Trump.
The Paul Revere-esque announcement appeared to liven the crowd.
A group of live-streamers, chronically online people who have spent weeks walking their phones around the courthouse while dramatically recounting the scene, cheered and hollered for the music mogul.
They high-fived, doling out congratulations for Combs, and each another, for successfully covering the high-profile case.
Only one man interrupted the Paul Revere figure, reminding him that Combs could still go to prison for being found guilty on the two counts of transportation for prostitution.
Combs is still facing up to 20 years in prison since the maximum sentence for each of the transportation counts is 10 years.
But that still didn’t quell the crowd. In fact, a new sense of excitement erupted when people realized Combs may not only walk free on Wednesday, but that he could walk free in front of their eyes.
Throughout the afternoon the sidewalk in front of the courthouse became rowdier. One woman wearing a bright blue wig while dressed in a bra and underwear sprinkled baby oil on the crowd – a reference to the infamous “freak offs.” Another man held up a speaker, playing one of Combs’ songs.
Inside the courthouse, any glimmer of hope the mogul would walk free on Wednesday faded when the judge almost immediately denied bail at a conference just after 5 p.m.
Subramanian said the defendant was unable to meet his burden to show the lack of danger to any person or his community. The rapper slouched in his chair as the judge pointed out that his attorneys had said repeatedly throughout the trial that they “own” domestic violence.
Agnifilo said he respected the judge’s decision but argued that Diddy was a “man in the process of working on himself. He’s been a model prisoner.” The defense attorney noted that his client attended batterers program meetings before his arrest last September. He also argued this case falls under the “exceptional circumstances” for his release under the Mann Act, an anti-sex trafficking law with a controversial, century-old history.
Prosecutor Maurene Comey blasted back that the only thing exceptional about Diddy was “his wealth, his violence, and his brazenness.” She said he’s shown “no remorse” to victims.
At one point, the rapper waved his hand, signaling he wanted to speak in court. But he never did. His lawyers continued to speak on his behalf before he and his court-mandated yellow sweater shuffled out of the courtroom.
Helicopters circled overhead outside the courthouse as fans and reporters packed near the front to get a glimpse of his family.
Diddy’s mother and his six children walked out of the courthouse following the verdict. But there was no sight of the man at the center of the trial after the judge declined to release Combs as he awaits sentencing.
There will be a hearing next week to address the scheduling of Combs’ sentencing.
