(LifeSiteNews) — Federal agents raided the Los Angeles and Miami homes of rap mogul P. Diddy (Sean Combs) on Monday as part of a sex-trafficking investigation.
Law enforcement sources told the New York Post that the agents, led by the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Human Trafficking Task Force and authorized with a search warrant issued by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, rummaged through Combs’ homes in order to seize his phones and computers. He is facing multiple lawsuits alleging sex trafficking and other crimes.
Combs’ sons, 30-year-old Justin and 25-year-old King, were both seen in handcuffs during the raid at their father’s L.A. residence, which is owned by a division of Diddy’s record company, Bad Boy Entertainment, and one of his daughters, Fox reported. Sources told ABC News that the sons were detained and then released without charges.
The raids occurred after Combs was accused in multiple lawsuits of sex trafficking, sexual assault, and other crimes allegedly going back decades. They include a suit from a “Jane Doe” alleging that Combs gave her drugs and alcohol when she was 17 years old, in 2003, so that he and his friends could violently gang-rape her.
Another lawsuit from Combs’ ex-girlfriend, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, alleges that he “subject(ed) her to nearly a decade of physical, sexual and emotional abuse punctuated by rape, sex trafficking and being forced to engage in drug-fueled nonconsensual sexual encounters with other men.”
The music executive has denied all of the allegations.
Former CIA and FBI special agent Tracy Walder told Jesse Weber of the Law&Crime podcast on Tuesday that she has “no doubt” Combs will be indicted on sex-trafficking charges.
“I do believe that he was most likely the kingpin of this,” Walder said. “What that tells me, if it’s out of the Southern District of New York, is that this is spanning multiple states. And that he is alleging trafficking girls across the United States. This isn’t just an isolated incident.”
Combs’ whereabouts are unknown, although TMZ, which is owned by Fox Corporation, shared footage reportedly showing the rapper pacing outside of the Miami Opa-Locka airport at 6 p.m. Monday, just hours after his homes were raided. According to eyewitnesses, he was not detained or taken into custody while there.
However, a man described by police as Combs’ “drug mule,” Brendan Paul, was arrested by Miami-Dade Police alongside Homeland Security agents at the Opa-Locka airport at about 4:30 p.m. Monday.
LifeSiteNews contacted Opa Locka Airport, which would not confirm any details about the scene.
TMZ reported that it viewed flight data from Combs’ LoveAir LLC jet showing that it departed from the Van Nuys airport in the L.A. area at 9 a.m. and landed on the Caribbean island of Antigua.
Several commentators believe that Combs was running an Epstein-style blackmail operation and that federal agents are using the raids to nab evidence before it can be used to condemn other high-profile people guilty of sex crimes.
“They are raiding his home to hide evidence not to find it. That’s how this works,” Candace Owens declared Monday on X.
The Feds are currently raiding Diddy’s house. They already knew what he was up to but he is going to be the fall guy so that they can protect the people at the top of the ring.
They are raiding his home to hide evidence not to find it.
That’s how this works.
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) March 25, 2024
“Think about all of the footage that Diddy has on these huge public figures who have been in his home during all types of sexual acts, including minors, and people are panicking,” actor and comedian Vincent Oshana said during Patrick Bet-David’s Valuetainment podcast on Tuesday.
“He’s going to be the fall guy. They’re looking for all the s— that he has, just in case it comes out,” he continued, going on to call him “the Epstein of hip-hop.”
“I think it’s a blackmail operation. But the question is, for who? Who’s the puppet master?”
On September 15, 2023, Democratic New York Mayor Eric Adams gave Combs the key to the city despite his knowledge of lawsuits alleging Combs committed rape and sexual abuse.
“The bad boy of entertainment is getting the key to the city from the bad boy of politics!” Adams said as he presented the giant key to Combs in Times Square.
Adams himself is currently under investigation for his second sexual assault accusation.
Combs has been a committed supporter of the Democratic Party since he and rap mogul Jay-Z campaigned for Barack Obama as president, and he has since endorsed Joe Biden for president.