Crump calls Cox case settlement ‘historic justice'
'We got historic justice — the highest amount ever paid out in High Point, North Carolina,' prominent civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, the Cox family's lead attorney, told supporters during a press conference Thursday afternoon at the International Civil Rights Center & Museum in Greensboro.
'It's because of you saying they will not define the legacy of Fred Cox — we will define the legacy of Fred Cox.'
As The High Point Enterprise previously reported, a federal judge awarded the settlement in January, but Crump had not commented about the settlement publicly in the Triad before Thursday's press conference.
Joined at the podium by Cox's mother, Tenicka Smith of High Point, Crump praised her courage and perseverance throughout the nearly 4½-year 'journey to justice' that began when her 18-year-old son was slain by a Davidson County Sheriff's Office deputy on Nov. 8, 2020, after a funeral at a High Point church.
'She refused to let Fred's death be in vain,' Crump said. 'Your son is looking down from heaven, very proud of his mama.'
Smith tearfully thanked Crump and the rest of her legal team, as well as her family, friends and supporters.
'Fred was not just my baby — he was my only baby,' she said. 'I did not give up. I fought, I didn't sleep, and sometimes I slept too much, but I did not give up.'
The wrongful death lawsuit was filed in the summer of 2021, after a grand jury opted not to indict the deputy, citing 'insufficient evidence to support criminal charges.' The suit named the deputy, Michael Shane Hill, and the Davidson County Sheriff's Office as defendants, contending Hill gunned down the teenager without cause.
Hill fatally shot Cox at Living Water Baptist Church in High Point, where both were attending a memorial service for a young man who had been slain two weeks earlier in Davidson County. Cox was there as an acquaintance of the deceased, and Hill was investigating the homicide and attended the funeral at the request of the victim's family.
According to witnesses, as mourners were leaving the church, gunfire from two passing vehicles rained down near the church, causing mourners to scatter and seek shelter. Witnesses say Cox was helping a youth and his mother get into the church safely when he was shot four times — at least twice from behind — by Hill.
Cox, the father of two young children, died at the scene.
Also during Thursday's press conference, Crump announced the filing of a $100 million lawsuit in the case of Shanquella Robinson, a Charlotte woman who was killed while vacationing with friends in Mexico in October 2022. Following Robinson's death, a widely circulated video appeared to show the 25-year-old Black woman being beaten by one of her friends — reportedly a Jamestown woman — while the others watched.
The lawsuit was filed against the friends and the U.S. Department of Justice, which Crump said was 'malfeasant' in its response to Robinson's death. Citing insufficient evidence, federal prosecutors announced in April 2023 that no federal charges would be pursued in the case.
Crump compared the case to that of Natalee Holloway, a white teenage girl from Alabama who disappeared from the Caribbean island of Aruba in 2005.
'America went in and did whatever they had to do to bring justice against her killer,' Crump said. 'Why wouldn't they do the same for this young Black woman?'
Crump said he believes Robinson's family will win 'a historic verdict' in the case.
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Everyone who testified for the prosecution in the Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial
Across six weeks of testimony in Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex-trafficking and racketeering trial, federal prosecutors called 34 witnesses, attempting to prove that the rap mogul embraced violence and threats to coerce women into sex and to protect his music empire. In addition to hearing four days of testimony from star witness and former Combs girlfriend Cassie Ventura, who alleged that he subjected her to a decade of abuse, the jury also heard six days of testimony from a former Combs girlfriend who testified under the pseudonym "Jane." She told jurors that Combs provided her drugs and forced her to participate in the orgies – called "freak-offs" or "hotel nights"– for the three years of their relationship. The jury also heard from witnesses who testified they saw Combs be violent toward Ventura, former Combs employees who the prosecution alleged helped him commit crimes, male escorts who testified that they were paid by Combs' associates to participate in sexual encounters, and federal agents who conducted searches of Combs' property and analyzed evidence. Prosecutors called multiple witnesses who, they argued, corroborated Ventura's testimony, including a makeup artist and male escort who both testified about witnessing Combs' violence. Ventura's mother said she took out a home equity loan after Combs allegedly blackmailed her daughter, a loan Combs later repaid; rapper Kid Cudi testified that he was told Combs broke into his home and said he suspected that Combs coordinated the firebombing of his car in retaliation for his relationship with Ventura; and Kerry Morgan told jurors that she pleaded with her former best friend to leave what she said was a toxic and abusive relationship with Combs. One juror was dismissed during the trial for what Judge Arun Subramanian called "serious concerns as to the juror's candor and whether he shaded answers to get on and stay on the jury." The juror – a Black, middle-aged man – was replaced by an older, white man. Combs' attorneys objected to the change, saying it was a "veiled" attempt by the prosecution to alter the racial makeup of the panel. Subramanian dismissed those concerns, saying it was "inappropriate to consider race" in deciding whether the juror's responses to questions about where he lived were appropriate. Combs has pleaded not guilty and denies sexually assaulting or trafficking anyone and has maintained that the sexual relationships were consensual. Combs' lawyers have argued that the rap mogul's domestic violence was driven by jealousy and drug addiction, and that his voyeuristic sexual activities, while not mainstream, are his private business and do not amount to sex trafficking. Here are the federal witnesses who were called during the trial: Israel Florez, hotel security guard Prosecutors began their case by calling a witness whose testimony allowed them to show the jury multiple videos of Combs assaulting Ventura on March 5, 2016, in a Los Angeles hotel. After receiving a report of a woman in distress, security guard Israel Florez testified that he found Combs and Ventura in the elevator vestibule on the sixth floor of the InterContinental Hotel Century City in Los Angeles. "The best way I can describe it is like a devilish stare. He was just looking at me," Florez said about first encountering Combs, adding that he noticed Ventura had a "purple eye." After escorting Ventura out of the hotel, Florez said Combs attempted to offer him a bribe, which he rejected. "He was pretty much holding like a stack of money," he said. "He was pretty much telling me, like, 'Hey, take care of this, don't tell nobody,' pretty much." During Florez's testimony, prosecutors entered into evidence multiple videos of the alleged assault, showing Combs grabbing Ventura, throwing her to the ground and dragging her. Defense attorneys argued that the video – which they acknowledged depicted domestic violence – would be unfairly prejudicial to the jury, but the judge allowed the jury to see the videos. Defense attorneys also noted that his comments about a "devilish stare" were not in written reports about the incident. Daniel Phillip, male escort For their second witness, prosecutors called Daniel Phillip to testify about witnessing Combs being violent toward Ventura. Phillip – who said he was paid as much as $6000 each time he had sex with Ventura while Combs sat in the corner masturbating – testified that he saw Combs throw a bottle at Ventura then drag her across the floor after she did not immediately follow his instructions. "Mr. Combs came out of the room, and I just saw a bottle fly past her and hit the wall," he said. "He grabbed her by her hair, and started dragging her by her hair into her bedroom." "I could hear Cassie yelling, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry,' and then I could hear again what sounded like she was being slapped or someone was being slapped around and slammed around the room," he testified. Phillip told jurors that he did not feel comfortable intervening because of the power dynamic between him and Combs. "My thoughts was that this was someone with unlimited power, and chances are that even if I did go to the police, that I might still end up losing my life," he said. On cross-examination, Combs' lawyers tried to highlight an alleged inconsistency in his account – whether Combs asked him to leave after the alleged violence or resume having sex with Ventura – but Phillip stood by his original testimony. Cassie Ventura, musician and Combs' ex-girlfriend Combs' former girlfriend and musician Cassie Ventura testified for four days during the first week of the trial, as prosecutors attempted to lay the foundation of their criminal case against Combs. Prosecutors called her as one of their first witnesses in part because she was eight months-pregnant at the time of her testimony. After Combs signed Ventura to Bad Boy Records, she testified that they began an on-and-off relationship that lasted for more than a decade. While Ventura said their relationship had a loving and positive start, Combs allegedly became increasingly violent with her, threatened her if she ever disobeyed him and required her to participate in drug-fueled sex parties called "freak offs." "Every freak-off was directed by Sean. Like, he knew specifically where he wanted everyone to be, the lighting and such," Ventura said. Ventura also testified about multiple violent episodes where Combs allegedly abused her, including the 2016 incident that jurors watched on video. "When I chose to leave, I grabbed what I could and I got out and Sean followed me into the hallway before the elevators and grabbed me up, threw me on the ground, kicked me, tried to drag me back to the room," she said. Ventura testified that the threats and incessant sexual demands from Combs -- as well as a pattern of coerced sex with strangers -- drove her into addiction, exposed her to regular spates of violence and led her to contemplate suicide. The couple broke up in 2018, and in 2023 Ventura sued Combs over what she alleged was a "cycle of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking." While the lawsuit was quickly settled – according to Ventura for $20 million – with no admission of wrongdoing from Combs, the allegations in her lawsuit prompted federal investigators to begin looking into Combs. Ventura told the jury that she decided to testify in the case because it was the "right thing" to do. "I can't carry this anymore. I can't carry the same, the guilt, the way I was guided to treat people like they were disposable. What's right is right, what's wrong is wrong. I'm here to do the right thing," she said. During cross-examination, defense lawyers attempted to use years of text messages between Combs and Ventura to suggest that she was a willing participant in the sex parties and that their relationship was driven by mutual jealousy and infidelity. Defense lawyers have argued that Combs' violence was influenced by his drug use and fundamentally driven by jealousy, not as a desire to coerce others into sex, as prosecutors have alleged. Yasmin Binda, federal agent Yasmin Binda, a federal agent with Homeland Security Investigations, testified about the search conducted on Combs' hotel room shortly after he was arrested in September 2024. According to Binda, investigators found $9,000 in cash, substances that tested positive for MDMA and ketamine, and supplies like lubricant and baby oil that other witnesses have said were commonly used during freak-offs. Jurors were shown photos of the inside of Comb's Park Hyatt hotel room during Binda's testimony. Dawn Richard, former member of Danity Kane Dawn Richard, a former member of the Combs' pop group Danity Kane, told jurors that she personally witnessed Combs assaulting Ventura on multiple occasions, including a 2009 outburst in Los Angeles while Ventura tried to cook breakfast. "He came downstairs angry and was saying where the f--- was his eggs – excuse my language – and he was telling Cassie that she never gets anything right, where the f--- is his food, and he proceeded to come over to her and took the skillet with the eggs in it and tried to hit her over the head with it and she fell to the ground," she testified. Richard also told jurors that she witnessed Combs punch his then-girlfriend Ventura in the face with a "closed fist" in 2009 before a music festival in Central Park. After Ventura put on sunglasses and makeup to hide the injury, Richard said she put on sunglasses "in solidarity" with Ventura. The jury then saw a photo of Richard, Ventura and another member of Danity Kane wearing sunglasses at the festival. Richard also told the jury that the alleged violence extended to other public settings, testifying that Combs punched Ventura in the stomach during a group dinner attended by Usher, Ne-Yo and Interscope Records co-founder Jimmy Iovine. Richard mentioned that allegation in her civil lawsuit against Combs, but defense lawyers highlighted that Richard's prior discussion of the dinner did not mention the high-profile guests. Richard in 2024 sued Combs for assault, copyright infringement and false imprisonment, alleging -- among other things -- that he groped her on numerous occasions and forced her to endure inhumane work conditions. Combs denied all of the allegations and his attorneys in May filed a motion to dismiss the case. On cross-examination, defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland said Richard's account of an alleged assault has changed several times and suggested Richard agreed to testify against Combs because he ruined her music career by dismantling the music groups she had once been a part of. Kerry Morgan, Ventura's former best friend Ventura's former best friend Kerry Morgan testified about two instances when she said she personally saw Combs assault Ventura. She said she saw Combs hit Ventura in a home Combs rented in Hollywood Hills, and she testified about a second instance when Comb assaulted Ventura during a trip to Jamaica. "I heard her screaming and I went to the hallway. The hallway was extremely long. And they were coming out of the master bedroom and he was dragging her by her hair on the floor," she testified about the incident. Prosecutors also asked Morgan about the aftermath of a 2016 incident when Combs is accused of assaulting Ventura. Morgan's account matched what Ventura told jurors last week, saying the police arrived after the incident but Ventura refused to cooperate. Morgan said her relationship with Ventura ended in 2018 after she says Combs tried to choke Morgan and hit her with a wooden coat hanger. Morgan testified that Combs demanded she tell him "who Cassie was cheating on him with" while Ventura locked herself in a bathroom. Morgan said she later accepted a $30,000 payment from Combs after she threatened to sue. She agreed to a confidentiality deal in return for the money, she testified. She testified her friendship with Ventura ended at that point. David James, Combs' former personal assistant David James, Combs' former personal assistant, testified about his tenure working as Combs' personal assistant, offering jurors an anecdote about his first time entering the headquarters of Bad Boy Entertainment for a job interview. "This is Mr. Combs' kingdom. We're all here to serve in it," James said an employee told him after pointing to a photo of Combs. James told jurors about the wide range of tasks he completed for the rap mogul: from stocking hotel rooms and allegedly buying drugs to being the driver when Combs – allegedly armed with multiple guns – wanted to confront rival record executive Marion "Suge" Knight. Jurors first heard about the alleged interaction between Combs and Knight during Ventura's testimony, and James said the interaction prompted him to eventually leave his job working for Combs. "I was really struck by it. I realized for the first time being Mr. Combs' assistant that my life was in danger," James testified. Regina Ventura, Cassie Ventura's mother Regina Ventura, the mother of star witness Cassie Ventura, told the jury that she took out a home equity loan to pay Combs in order to prevent him from following through on an alleged threat to release a sex tape of her daughter. "The threats that have been made towards me by Sean 'Puffy' Combs are that … he is going to release 2 explicit sex tapes of me," Ventura wrote in an email to her mother and Combs' assistant Capricorn Clark on Dec. 23, 2011. Jurors saw the email when Cassie Ventura testified. "I was physically sick. I did not understand a lot of it. The sex tapes threw me. I did not know [Combs] but I knew that he was going to try to hurt my daughter," she told jurors. Regina Ventura testified that she and her husband decided to take out a loan so they could send Combs the $20,000 he demanded, though he ultimately returned the money. She also testified that she took photographs of the injuries her daughter allegedly suffered from Combs so that they would have a record of the alleged abuse. Approximately 15 years after she documented the injuries, prosecutors last week showed the photos to the jury to underscore Cassie Ventura's testimony about the violence she suffered at Combs' hands. Sharay Hayes, male escort Known professionally as The Punisher – a nickname based on his style of playing basketball – male escort Sharay Hayes told the jury that he was hired about a dozen times by Combs and Ventura. He said he first met Combs and Cassie Ventura in 2012, when he was hired to help create a "sexy erotic scene" for what, Ventura said, was Combs' birthday. He testified that Ventura instructed him to come to Trump International Hotel & Tower on Central Park West in Manhattan to perform a strip act. When he arrived, Ventura asked him to cover her in baby oil while Combs watched, Hayes said. "I was specifically told to ... try not to look at him, no communication or anything between me and him," he said. "The room was very dimly lit. … All of the furniture was covered in sheets and there was an area pretty much set up for me to sit and her to sit across from me, and there were little bowls in the area with baby oil in them." Hayes told jurors that Combs was nude for the encounter and wore a veil, occasionally masturbating during the interaction and offering "subtle directions" to Ventura. After their first interaction, Hayes said he worked for the couple up to 12 more times, receiving $1,200 to $2,000 on each occasion. Cross-examined by Combs' lawyers, Hayes testified that he believed Ventura sometimes flinched during some of Combs' directives but otherwise appeared comfortable during the exchanges, potentially undercutting the argument she was coerced to participate. The question of whether Ventura was forced or participated voluntarily is one of the most critical issues in the case against Combs. Gerald Gannon, federal agent Gerald Gannon, a special agent from United States Homeland Security Investigations, walked the jury through some of the evidence that he said was recovered from the rap star's home on the exclusive Miami Beach enclave of Star Island. Gannon testified that federal agents recovered the parts of two AR-15 assault-style rifles with defaced serial numbers only feet from where Combs allegedly stored materials for freak-offs -- including baby oil, lingerie, platform heels and sex toys. Prosecutors have argued that the threat of violence allowed Combs to coerce his alleged victims to participate in freak-offs. Holding parts of the weapons in court for the jury to see, Gannon testified that investigators recovered a fully-loaded handgun in a piece of luggage found in Combs' residence. Jurors also saw the trove of drugs allegedly found in Combs' residence, including a variety of pills, marijuana, powders and other drugs that prosecutors have alleged were used to make women compliant during freak-offs and would allow them to perform long past the point of exhaustion. Dawn Hughes, expert witness Psychologist Dawn Hughes was called by prosecutors to explain to the jury that many people opt to stay in abusive relationships because they feel trapped or form an "intense psychological bond" that draws them to their abuser. "It's hard for us to break up with someone under the best of circumstances," Hughes said. "When you have all this violence and abuse, you're just trying to live day to day in this very micro way." She explained that oftentimes victims' emotional strength becomes devoted to avoiding beatings instead of plotting a way out of an abusive relationship. While Hughes as an expert witness was not allowed to directly analyze Combs' relationship with Ventura, she offered indirect context for some of the topics Ventura touched on during her testimony. If victims are able to escape an abusive relationship, Hughes told the jury, they often return, as Ventura testified that she did repeatedly with Combs. Hughes also said that victims often adopt passive self-defense mechanisms that don't provoke their abusers, such as "curling up in a ball." Earlier witnesses Dawn Richard and Kerry Morgan both testified that they saw Ventura drop into a fetal position during beatings they said they witnessed Combs inflicting. George Kaplan, former personal assistant Testifying under an immunity deal so that he cannot be prosecuted for anything he admits to, Combs' former assistant George Kaplan told jurors he quit his job after 15 months because he could no longer continue "fixing" problems for Combs after the mogul's repeated acts of violence. Kaplan testified that he saw Combs become violent on three occasions, including one episode when he was summoned to Combs' bedroom only to find Ventura crying and bruised in bed. He also testified seeing Combs holding a whisky glass over Ventura's head during a flight to Las Vegas and another instance in 2015 when a "very angry" Combs threw apples at another one of his girlfriends. "In my heart of hearts I knew what was happening and I felt an element of guilt that I didn't do anything to stop it," he told jurors about why he stopped working for Combs. Kaplan also told jurors about the process of setting up and cleaning hotel rooms for the rap mogul. He testified that he often was given only a few hours' notice to set up a room and came prepared with a "hotel bag" filled with what were essentials for Combs: candles, baby oil, Astroglide lubricant, an audio speaker and extra clothing. He also said that he would be tasked with cleaning the rooms after Combs was done because he was concerned that if hotel staff had cleaned the rooms immediately after Combs left, they might try to sell videos of images of the aftermath of a freak-off. Scott Mescudi, musician and actor Kid Cudi – whose legal name is Scott Mescudi – told jurors that his brief relationship with Cassie Ventura was marked by violent threats from Combs that prompted him and Ventura to stop seeing one another. He told jurors that he suspected Combs allegedly broke into his home and coordinated the firebombing of his high-end sports car. After starting a romance with the singer and model who was involved with Combs on and off for years, Mescudi said he received an abrupt phone call from Ventura to warn that Combs had learned they were seeing each other. He said he picked up Ventura and soon received a call from Combs' assistant informing him that Combs had broken into his home. "I said, 'M—----, you in my house?' And he said, 'What's up?' 'Are you in my house? I just want to talk to you. I'm on my way over right now,'" he testified. Mescudi said he quickly drove to his home but did not find Combs, though there were traces of his alleged visit. He said the Christmas gifts he bought for his family had been opened and his dog was locked in the bathroom. He also testified that he reported the incident to police. Mescudi said he and Ventura eventually broke up because "things were getting out of hand" and he felt concerned for their safety. During her testimony, Ventura said that Combs threatened to hurt her and Mescudi if their relationship continued and vowed to blow up the car of the rival rapper. Mescudi testified that he suspected Combs followed through with the threat in early 2012, telling jurors that someone had cut the soft top of his Porsche open and placed a lit Molotov cocktail inside. Jurors were shown the results of that episode when prosecutors entered into evidence multiple photos of the charred vehicle. Defense lawyers have denied that Combs had any role in the firebombing of the vehicle. Mylah Morales, makeup artist Prosecutors called makeup artist Mylah Morales to testify about a 2010 incident when Combs allegedly assaulted Ventura in their hotel suite. According to Morales, Combs stormed into the room they rented at the Beverly Hills Hotel after a night out. "Where the f--- is she?" Combs allegedly shouted before he walked into the bedroom where Ventura was and closed the door, according to Morales' testimony. Morales said she heard "yelling and screaming" before Combs exited the hotel room. She said Ventura had a swollen eye, busted lip and "knots on her head" after the incident. According to Morales, Ventura stayed with her for a few days to recover after the incident. Morales testified that a friend who was a doctor checked on Ventura to see if she had a concussion and suggested she visit an emergency room, according to her testimony, but Ventura allegedly said it was "her wish not to go to the ER." On cross-examination, Combs' lawyers highlighted that Morales did not directly witness the alleged assault because she was outside the bedroom. Frédéric Zemmour, hotel manager The general manager of the L'Ermitage Beverly Hills, Frédéric Zemmour, said Combs frequently stayed at the hotel, and his guest profile noted some characteristics that other witnesses said were features of the drug-fueled sex parties called "freak offs" that Combs would host. "Always spills candle wax on everything and uses excessive amounts of oil, place rooms out of order upon departure for deep cleaning," Zemmour said, citing notes the hotel kept on Combs. When Ventura testified last week, she said Combs often booked rooms at L'Ermitage Beverly Hills to host freak-offs. She recounted one instance when Combs allegedly requested she get into a blowup pool that was filled with "lube and oil." Joshua Croft, special agent Joshua Croft, a special agent from Homeland Security Investigations, briefly testified about the process for examining some of the electronic devices recovered during the investigation into Combs. He told the jury that he conducted computer extractions from three laptops that belonged to Cassie Ventura. One of the laptops included a user profile for Frank Black, an alias used by Sean Combs, he said. Capricorn Clark, Combs' former personal assistant One of Combs' longest-serving personal assistants, Capricorn Clark told jurors about the inner workings of how Combs did business and offered potentially damaging testimony about multiple episodes that prosecutors say demonstrate how the rap mogul's business empire also served as a criminal organization. She told jurors that she was told she would be "thrown into the East River" if she failed a lie detector test about the theft of Combs' jewelry, that she was kidnapped to join Combs to confront rival musician Kid Cudi, and how she witnessed Combs beat his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura. In the early-morning hours of Dec. 22, 2011, Clark testified that Combs arrived at her apartment with a handgun and forced her to go with him to the home of Kid Cudi, a rival musician who briefly dated Ventura. When she protested, Clark testified Combs, gun allegedly in hand, told her, "I don't give a f--- what you want to do, go get dressed." While Kid Cudi was not at his home when Combs and his bodyguard allegedly arrived, Clark testified that Combs ordered her and the bodyguard to convince Mescudi not to tell police Combs was involved in the break-in at the house. "If you don't convince him, I'm going to kill all you m-------------" Clark recalled Combs telling her. When she returned to Combs' home with Ventura, Clark said Combs, standing in his robe and underwear, allegedly began kicking Ventura. She testified that Combs kicked Ventura repeatedly, "and each kick she would crouch into more and more a fetal position" until she was all the way to the street. Clark also told jurors that she was forced to take a series of lie detector tests during her first year working for Combs after some jewelry loaned to him went missing. She testified about reporting to the unfinished corporate headquarters of Combs' Bad Boy Entertainment, where an unidentified man forced her to take multiple lie detector tests over the course of a week. If she flunked the test, she testified that the man told her, "They're going to throw you in the East River." During a cross-examination that hopscotched from time period to time period, Capricorn Clark testified that she did not know the connection between Sean Combs and the large man she remembered repeatedly administering the lie detector test. While prosecutors sought to use Clark's testimony to highlight how Combs used his wealth, power, and employees to lead a criminal enterprise, defense attorneys attempted to undercut that narrative by highlighting messages that suggested Clark was eager to work for a man who held a singular position atop the worlds of music and culture. Christopher Ignacio, Los Angeles Police Department officer Los Angeles Police Department Officer Christopher Ignacio testified about responding to the home of Scott Mescudi, aka rapper Kid Cudi, on Dec. 22, 2011, after he reported a break-in. After walking through the home, Ignacio said he recorded the incident as trespassing. He also said that he ran the license plate from a black Cadillac Escalade seen driving from the house, and jurors saw a report from the California Department of Motor Vehicles that showed the registered owner of the SUV was Bad Boy Productions, Inc. The DMV record is the only piece of evidence that directly links Combs to the break-in. Lance Jimenez, Los Angeles Fire Department arson investigator Defense attorneys made their first request for a mistrial since the start of the trial after Los Angeles Fire Department arson investigator Lance Jimenez was questioned about the fingerprint evidence originally recovered from Kid Cudi's home during the break-in and he obtained while investigating the scene of his torched Porsche 911. Kid Cudi testified that he suspected Combs was behind the fire, though the rap mogul has long denied being involved. Jimenez told jurors that he responded to the incident on Jan. 9, 2012, and quickly reached the conclusion that the fire was caused by a "makeshift fire bomb" known as a Molotov cocktail. "There was a bottle on the front seat, and there was a cloth handkerchief on the center console that was burned," Jimenez testified. "Inside the bottle, I observed a liquid that gave off an odor I know to be gasoline." Jimenez walked the jury through multiple photos of the damage to the vehicle, including the soot damage on the driver's door, the burns on the interior, and the cut in the canvas roof. The jury also saw a picture of the lighter, the 40-ounce Olde English 800 malt liquor bottle used to make the Molotov cocktail, and a burned handkerchief. Defense lawyers moved for a mistrial after Jimenez testified about how fingerprint evidence taken from the scene of Kid Cudi's break-in was later allegedly destroyed by the Los Angeles Police Department. Prosecutors tried to ask if evidence is regularly destroyed during investigations, prompting an objection from defense lawyers. Combs' lawyers argued the question of whether it was "unusual" for fingerprint evidence to be destroyed unfairly suggested that Combs was tampering with the investigation. Judge Subramanian denied the request for the mistrial but instructed the jury that the testimony about the fingerprint evidence was 'irrelevant.' Deonte Nash, celebrity stylist Cassie Ventura's longtime friend, celebrity stylist Deonte Nash, testified that he "quite often" saw Combs' girlfriend Ventura with bruises, and knew her to spend nights with Combs in hotel rooms against her will. During his testimony, Nash told the jury about numerous instances of violence and threats of violence by Combs, specifically one incident when he said Ventura considered climbing over a hotel balcony in Beverly Hills to escape Combs, who had just arrived. Nash testified that Ventura "was frightened" after he told her "that Puff was downstairs looking for her." Testifying because he was subpoenaed, Nash told the jury he heard Combs telling Ventura "that he wouldn't put her music out, that he would get her parents fired from their jobs, that he would put out sex tapes.' Federal prosecutors have alleged Combs maintained coercive control over Ventura that caused her to engage in freak-offs that she did not want to be part of. On cross examination, Nash acknowledged that Ventura kept part of her life "secret" from him, despite their close relationship. 'Mia,' Combs' former personal assistant Testifying over the course of three days, Combs' former personal assistant – who testified under the pseudonym 'Mia' – offered emotional and detailed testimony about how Combs allegedly sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions while she worked for him. She testified that Combs first sexually assaulted her a few months into her job as his assistant while they were at a New York hotel. She said that Combs had rented the penthouse and asked to speak with her alone in the kitchen, where he allegedly put his hand up the side of her dress and kissed her. Months later, she told the jury that Combs allegedly raped her inside his home on Beverly Grove Drive in Los Angeles. She told the court she was asleep in a guest room and remembered waking to "the weight of a person on top of me." She testified that she remembered Combs "telling me 'shh'" and "using one hand to get his pants off." 'It was very quick but felt like forever,' she testified, saying the incident left her feeling 'terrified and confused and ashamed and scared.' She also testified about a separate incident where Combs allegedly forced her to perform oral sex on him. Overall, she said the assaults made her "always" worried about being physically hurt or having her reputation tarnished by Combs. "I didn't want to die or get hurt," Mia testified. She told the court she also worried that Combs would "fire me and twist the story into making me look like a threat." In addition to telling the jury about how Combs allegedly assaulted her on different occasions, Mia testified that she witnessed multiple times when Combs allegedly abused Ventura, with whom she said she had a close, sister-like relationship. She told the court she saw Combs get violent with Ventura at his houses, at her apartments, at hotels and at events, as well as on vacation. "I've seen him attack her. I've seen him throw her on the ground. I've seen him crack her head open. I've seen him chase her," Mia testified. Mia told jurors about helping set up the hotel rooms for the days-long, drug-fueled orgies that Combs hosted, called "freak-offs." Mia said she packed "all of his lotions and potions, baby oil, Astroglide, condoms" and candles for the events, was on standby if he needed anything, and would clean the rooms after the events to prevent bad publicity. While the jury has heard from other assistants employed by Combs, the duration and intensity of Mia's time with Combs offered jurors a window into the Combs business empire that no other witness had provided. She testified that Combs' intense work demands often required that she stay awake for days on end, always keep Combs in her line of sight, and accommodate all of his requests. The jury saw a list of responsibilities she assembled, saying, "Every single day is different." He might "ask you to do 17,000 things," which included everything from "cracking his knuckles" to "doing his taxes" to standing next to him for 22 hours a day doing nothing, she testified. Mia also testified about growing accustomed to Combs' alleged violence, describing at least three different items Combs threw at her: a book, a computer and a bowl of spaghetti. She told the jury about one instance when Combs lashed out, allegedly throwing a computer at her head after the Wi-Fi stopped working in his trailer on the set of a music video shoot in Los Angeles. During a lengthy cross-examination, defense attorneys sought to undercut Mia's allegations of abuse and rape by showing the jury dozens of text messages and social media posts where she praised Combs and thanked him for his support. "Thank you for being the good kind of crazy," she wrote in one post on Combs' birthday. "Thank you for being a friend and bringing friends into my life." While acknowledging that the earlier posts were legitimate, Mia pushed back against Combs' lawyers' effort to make her contradict her testimony. "It's called psychological abuse," Mia told jurors why she wrote positive things about Combs in the past. Sylvia Oken, Beverly Hills Hotel manager Susan Oken, the manager of the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles, testified that Combs often stayed at her establishment under the name "Frank Black" or "Philip Pines," both of the names aliases that other witnesses testified that Combs used. Oken testified that Combs once incurred an extra $300 charge to clean the drapes in a room in which he stayed and another $500 charge to clean "oil damage." Oken said the charge reflected something "beyond the scope of what we'd normally clean." The prosecution's questioning was a callback to earlier testimony about the so-called "freak-off" orgies that Combs would allegedly host and, according to testimony, featured gallons of baby oil. Eddy Garcia, security guard at the InterContinental Hotel Eddy Garcia, a security guard for the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles, testified that Combs paid him $100,000 in an attempt to secure his silence and bury a hotel security surveillance video of the rap mogul assaulting Ventura, now a central piece of evidence in the criminal case that threatens to send Combs to prison for life. Prosecutors have argued that Combs' $100,000 payment to Garcia was a bribe and one of the underlying crimes at the heart of their allegation that the hip-hop superstar is guilty of racketeering conspiracy. They allege that Combs realized the episode could reveal years of criminal conduct and might pull back the curtain on how the mogul allegedly used his business empire to coerce women into sex, threaten them into silence, and protect his public reputation. About an hour into his shift on March 5, 2016, Garcia testified that he received an unexpected call on his work phone from Combs' then-chief of staff, Kristina Khorram, who requested a copy of the security video. Despite telling her that she would need to contact hotel management or get a subpoena to view the footage, Garcia testified that Khorram arrived in the hotel lobby an hour later to try to watch the recording. "She was asking about the video and if there was any way she could see it," he said. "She wanted to know what they were dealing with." Garcia said he apologized and said he could not show it to her, though he testified that he warned her, "Off the record: it's bad." Later that night, Garcia testified, he received a phone call from Khorram and a noticeably "nervous" Combs who tried to explain his actions. 'Mr. Combs sounded very nervous, just talking really fast, but was just saying he had a little too much to drink and that I knew how things was with women. One thing led to another and how if this got out it could ruin him,' Garcia said. Garcia testified that he agreed to sell to Combs what he thought was the only copy of the video for $100,000 in cash. He agreed to provide copies of his and his coworkers' drivers licenses, consent to a nondisclosure agreement, and sign a declaration that no other copies of the video existed. Garcia told jurors that Combs was 'excited' about the agreement and "referred to me as 'Eddy my angel.'" When he met with Combs to sell him the video, the rap mogul allegedly contacted Ventura on FaceTime so she could communicate that she, too, wanted the video to go away. Garcia's testimony concluded with minimal cross-examination from the defense. Garcia testified in agreement with defense attorney Brian Steel that Combs had treated him professionally. Derek Ferguson, former CFO of Combs' enterprises Derek Ferguson, the longtime chief financial officer of Combs' enterprises, testified about the financial structure of Combs' business empire and how Combs often intertwined his personal and business interests. Prosecutors have argued that Combs' companies doubled as a criminal enterprise that allowed him to commit crimes for years with few repercussions. During Ferguson's testimony, jurors also saw documents showing a series of wire transfers in 2011 to and from Cassie Ventura's mother, Regina Ventura. While Ferguson testified that he did not know the reason for the $20,000 payment, jurors last month heard directly from Regina Ventura, who testified that she and her husband took out a home equity loan to fund the payment. She testified Combs demanded the payment to "recoup" money he had spent on Cassie Ventura "because he was angry that she had a relationship with Scott Mescudi." During his cross examination, Combs' attorney Marc Agnifilo tried to use Ferguson's 19 years of experience working with Combs to cast doubt on the way prosecutors have described Combs' business empire. "Did you see anyone help Sean Combs commit crimes?" Agnifilo asked. "No," Ferguson testified in response. Frank Piazza, video analyst Prosecutors called forensic analyst Frank Piazza to verify the authenticity of the 2016 hotel security surveillance video showing Combs assaulting Ventura, as well as enter into evidence ten videos allegedly taken of "freak-offs." Federal prosecutors have argued that Combs recorded the "freak-offs" and later used them as blackmail to keep his alleged victims quiet. Piazza testified that the video showing the hotel assault appeared to him to be unaltered from its original form. He walked the jury through specific frames of the video shot, narrating the moments when Combs throws Ventura to the ground and tries to throw a vase at her. He testified that the videos in evidence were authentic. "There are no anomalies going on in the file to indicate it had been manually altered," he testified about the videos, which defense attorneys unsuccessfully fought to keep out of the trial. Bryana 'Bana' Bongolan, longtime Cassie Ventura friend The testimony of longtime Cassie Ventura friend Bryana Bongolan focused on an alleged September 2016 incident that prosecutors argued is emblematic of Combs' willingness to openly use violence in front of Ventura. Bongolan told jurors that she was staying overnight in Ventura's Los Angeles apartment when Combs began knocking on the door loudly and demanded to be let inside. She testified that Combs came from behind her and tried to lift her over the railing of the apartment's 17th-floor balcony, briefly dangled her, then threw her into a coffee table. "He lifted me and then had me on top of the rail," Bongolan said. "For a split second, I was thinking I was going to fall, but for the most part he was yelling at me, so I was trying to answer him." Bongolan said she was allegedly held aloft for about 15 seconds as Combs repeatedly shouted, "You know what the f--- you did." She testified that she still does not know what triggered the alleged incident. Bongolan also told the jury that she noticed Ventura's injuries from time to time while they were working together. She told jurors that Ventura FaceTimed her in December 2016 to show her a black eye she said she suffered when Combs assaulted her in a Los Angeles Hotel. Bongolan also testified about a separate alleged incident in which she said Combs stormed into Ventura's apartment in the middle of the night and threw a knife at her. She also testified that Ventura threw it back without hitting Combs. Defense attorneys tried to cast doubt on Bongolan's testimony by introducing evidence showing that Combs was in New York, not Los Angeles, around the time that Bongolan said the attack happened. While Judge Subramanian commended defense attorneys for what he called their 'Perry Mason' moment, he declined to declare a mistrial over the alleged perjury. When questioned by prosecutors after being presented with the hotel receipts showing Combs was in New York, Bongolan insisted that the incident occurred but could not be sure of the date. Enrique Santos, forensic analyst for US Attorney's Office SDNY Following Bongolan's testimony, prosecutors called forensic analyst Enrique Santos of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York to introduce evidence retrieved from a cell phone of Sean Combs' one-time chief of staff, Kristina Khorram. Prosecutors sought to bolster Bongolan's testimony by showing the jury a message from Ventura to Khorram about the alleged balcony attack. "He came into my house and my friends were here," Ventura allegedly texted Bongolan on Sept. 30, 2016. "They woke me up because he was ringing the bell like crazy." The message allegedly continued, "He went at Bana and choked her, then dangled her feet off the balcony." 'Jane,' Combs' ex-girlfriend Referred to in the indictment as 'Victim-2,' Combs' ex-girlfriend testified under the pseudonym 'Jane' for six days, the longest any single witness in the trial spent on the witness stand. Often testifying through tears, Jane told jurors that Combs provided her drugs and forced her to participate in the orgies – called "freak-offs" or "hotel nights"– for the three years of their relationship. Jane alleged that the "hotel nights" – which she told the jury took up 90% of her time with Combs – could last as long as three days and would require her, during the sessions, to have sex with up to three other men in addition to Combs. Saying she felt pressure to please Combs, whom she testified would masturbate while watching Jane with the male escorts, Jane said she relied on drugs to make it through the sex marathons. "I just feel like at this point I had done so many of these that I just know how to just tune out and get in a zone," she said of living through the sexual escapades. "I just know what my partner likes to see, and I just turn on this person and I just begin.' Jane testified that the routine only ended when federal agents arrested Combs in September 2024 for alleged sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transportation to engage in prostitution, charges Combs has denied. Jane's testimony at times mirrored the allegations made by Comb's other ex-girlfriend, the musician Cassie Ventura, who likewise took the jury through a narrative of male prostitutes, days-long sexual encounters and the drugs and alcohol that fueled them. Both women testified about relationships with Combs that became consumed by the sex sessions, telling the jury how they took drugs to endure the sex and were allegedly required to book the male escorts with whom they were then forced to have sex. Both Ventura and Jane testified that they repeatedly told Combs they did not want to participate in the "freak-offs" after first agreeing to them to satisfy Combs' appetites. Unlike Ventura, who testified that Combs sometimes attacked her to force her to continue participating in "freak-offs," Jane said that Combs coerced her by threatening to withhold his financial support or to potentially release sex tapes of her to damage her reputation. She testified about one violent episode when Combs allegedly beat her after she initiated a fight over Combs seeing another woman, and then forced her to have sex with a male escort afterward. During questioning from prosecutors, Jane acknowledged she was deeply jealous of Combs' relationships with other women, tired of the hotel nights, and felt manipulated by Combs. Prosecutors showed jurors dozens of text messages and notes they said reinforced both Jane's frustration with Combs and her repeated requests to get out of the "hotel nights," which prosecutors hope will bolster their argument that the sexual encounters were not fully consensual. "I realized that since 2021 that I had been saying the same thing over and over again," Jane told jurors about her frequent pleas to stop participating in the hotel nights. Jane's testimony also offered jurors a window into the unraveling of Comb's personal and professional life following Ventura's explosive 2023 civil lawsuit against him, the release of the hotel security surveillance video of him assaulting her, and the criminal investigation into his behavior, which culminated in Combs' arrest in September 2024. "I just couldn't sleep. I was just reading these pages and going through a nightmare," Jane testified, explaining her first reaction after reading Ventura's lawsuit, in which Ventura narrated a story that Jane testified was painfully similar to the life she said she had been forced to lead: "I can't believe I am reading my own story." Combs' attorneys spent days trying to cast doubt on those claims by getting Jane to admit that her relationship with Combs was complex and even loving. Jane, one of the prosecution's key witnesses, admitted under cross-examination that still loves Combs, deeply wanted to have a normal relationship with him, and was jealous of the time he spent with other women. "I was just made to be, just carry this impossible pressure and they weren't asked to hold any of that pressure like I did," Jane testified. "I just thought it was unfair. All the nights with these men. Andre LaMon, Homeland Security Investigations agent Testifying about the raid on Combs' Los Angeles home in March 2024, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Andre Lamon told jurors that law enforcement agents found bulk amounts of lubricants, firearms and drugs during the search. Prosecutors showed the jury photos of 18 boxes of lubricant stacked on top of one another in a garage and bottles of AstroGlide lined up neatly on shelves, in drawers and in a cigar box, interspersed with bottles of Johnson & Johnson baby oil. Lamon said agents seized 200 bottles of baby oil and 900 bottles of AstroGlide lubricant from the property. Lamon held up plastic bags of drugs for the court to see, which he said were seized from the home. The substances included ketamine and MDMA, he testified. The jury saw photographs of firearms that agents seized from Combs' home, including a bolt-action Ruger rifle, Smith & Wesson M&P AR15-style semi-automatic rifles, a Glock pistol, and a Mossberg pump-action shotgun. A separate photograph showed a 60-round drum magazine loaded with 59 rounds of "green tip" ammunition, meant to penetrate body armor. Earlier in the trial, jurors saw similar photos of firearms, drugs and lubricant that were seized from Combs' Miami home. Prosecutors argued that the proximity of the guns in Combs' home to items issued for the "freak-off" sex parties demonstrated the coercive nature of the sexual escapades. Upon questioning by the defense, Lamon testified that the guns were kept in a secure location. Jonathan Perez, Combs' former personal assistant Jonathan Perez was the fifth of Combs' former personal assistants to testify during the lengthy trial and the fourth witness to be granted immunity. Like other personal assistants who have appeared during the trial, Perez testified that he purchased illegal drugs for Combs and that the rap mogul's Gucci pouch contained money and drugs, including cocaine, ketamine, molly, Adderall and Xanax. Perez also told the jury that he communicated with Combs and helped facilitate a $3,500 payment for an escort. The alleged payment was in June 2024 and followed an evening that, Jane testified earlier in the trial, had turned violent, after which Combs then allegedly forced her to have sex with a male escort. Perez testified that Combs called him that evening and that Perez told Jane that Combs did not spend time with another woman, in an effort to defuse the situation. Later, Perez testified, he helped facilitate a $3,500 payment for Combs' escort. On cross-examination, Perez testified that setting up hotel rooms and procuring drugs were personal errands and not work-related tasks. He said those tasks took up 1% of his time compared with his business-related duties. Perez's testimony was briefly watched by rapper Kanye West, who now goes by the name Ye. One of the few major celebrities to offer Combs support during the trial, Ye briefly entered Manhattan Federal Court to watch the testimony from an overflow room for about 15 minutes. Ananya Sankar, paralegal at US Attorney's Office Prosecutors called Anaya Sankar, a paralegal specialist for the United States Attorney's Office, to introduce a series of text messages into the record. As a so-called 'summary witness,' Sankar was able to read evidence into the record despite lacking direct knowledge about the messages. The names of Combs' former chief of staff, Kristina Khorram, and security guard Damian Butler were mentioned by other witnesses as key individuals who allegedly assisted Combs, but prosecutors have not called either of them to the stand. Instead, prosecutors used Sankar to offer to the jury additional evidence related to either of Combs' employees to bolster the allegations against him. Though prosecutors allege that Combs relied on others to orchestrate his criminal enterprise, no one besides Combs has been charged with any crimes. DeLeassa Penland, federal agent Prosecutors used the testimony of U.S. Attorney's Office Special Agent DeLeassa Penland to show the jury evidence that, they say, proves Combs used his business empire to covertly run a criminal enterprise. When Combs caused more than $46,000 worth of damage to his room at the InterContinental Hotel in Manhattan's Times Square, Combs' credit card bill that month – totaling $944,059 in charges – was paid through multiple bank accounts controlled by his companies, according to evidence shown to the jury. When Combs used his credit card to buy airline tickets for former girlfriend Cassie Ventura and a male escort in 2010, those charges were similarly paid through a Signature Bank account held by Bad Boy Entertainment Worldwide, according to testimony. Prosecutors also used Penland's testimony to play the jury portions of the extended videos Combs took of 'freak-offs.' Prosecutors say the videos show Combs coerced women into sex and used the videos as leverage against them, while defense lawyers argue the videos show consenting adults participating in sex. The videos themselves were admitted under seal because of the sensitive nature of what they show, and the judge has ruled that no one outside the jury and the parties in the case may view them. News organizations, including ABC News, went to court seeking at least limited access in order to describe what the tapes show, but U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian rebuffed that request. Brendan Paul, former Combs assistant Brendan Paul was the sixth former assistant to Combs who testified during the trial. Granted immunity ahead of his testimony, he told the jury that he purchased and carried drugs for Combs. Paul was arrested in March 2024 for cocaine possession while aboard a private plane with Combs. While he testified that the drugs belonged to Combs, he said he didn't tell law enforcement out of 'loyalty' to the rap mogul. The drug charges against Paul were dropped last year after he completed a pre-trial intervention program. Paul also told the jury that Combs wanted his assistants to 'move like SEAL Team Six' and anticipate his every need. He testified that it was part of his job to buy a pound of marijuana every two months and to procure a powdery mix of ketamine and molly, known as tusi, that was 'dyed pink for the aesthetic.' Paul further testified that he set up hotel rooms for so-called "freak-off" sexual encounters, which he knew as 'wild king nights,' stocking items like lubricant and baby oil. The jury saw photos of the items arranged in Combs' Los Angeles homes. On cross-examination, Paul testified that he never noticed 'Jane,' the former Combs girlfriend who testified under a pseudonym, being hesitant or apprehensive about participating in what she called 'hotel night' sexual encounters. Paul said he considered "wild king nights" to be Combs' personal time, 'like an escape.' Joseph Cerciello, Homeland Security Investigations special agent Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Joseph Cerciello, the final summary witness for the government, told jurors that he reviewed 'multiple hours' of explicit videos ahead of his testimony. Federal prosecutors said they were able to identify more than 40 arranged sexual encounters with male escorts – referred to at various times during testimony as 'freak-offs,' 'hotel nights' or 'wild king nights,' depending on the witness – that allegedly took place between 2021 and 2024, including one prosecutors say happened just weeks before Combs' arrest in September 2024. Combs has maintained that all encounters were consensual. During Cerciello's testimony, the jury was shown text messages, travel records, hotel receipts and other records that prosecutors say demonstrate that the sexual acts depicted in the videos were the result of alleged coordinated criminal activity by Combs and his employees. The messages showed Combs coordinating with others to pay for escorts, arranging travel for alleged victims, and requesting additional supplies for freak offs.
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8 hours ago
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A Pride-Month Odyssey Through the Historic Gayborhood of Hell's Kitchen
Photo: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images More than a century ago, before rainbow-striped flags flew over restaurant patios and you could buy a Bentley on West 51st Street, Hell's Kitchen was a crucible of struggle. This western swath of Manhattan—spanning 34th to 59th Street, Eighth Avenue to the Hudson River—began as an 1800s tenement district dominated by Irish-born railyard workers. Increasingly integrated by Southern Black migrants toward the turn of the 20th century, the neighborhood rapidly industrialized into a hub of factories and slaughterhouses, and became known for the kind of living conditions that kept typhoid top of mind. Irish ruffians of a certain bent found that organized crime offered an escape hatch—however problematic—giving rise to crews like the Gopher Gang and the Parlor Mob, who ruled the neighborhood's saloons, bordellos, and gambling dens with fearsome tactics. Some days, they battled police; other days, they buddied up with them. In August 1900, white civilians and white cops rioted as one, unleashing two days of indiscriminate attacks against dozens of Black Hell's Kitchen residents using lead pipes, guns, knives, fists, and billy clubs in what remains one of the largest explosions of racist violence in city history. Today we chuckle over the goofy names of historic neighborhood gangsters like Stumpy Malarkey and Goo Goo Knox. Meanwhile, the names of Black men brutalized here fade into ye olde newspaper archives—men like Gordon Jones, Lloyd Lee, and John Lockett, whose face 'was literally cut into ribbons.' Historians disagree on the 1800s origin of the Hell's Kitchen nickname. Some say it was a scornful cop or local tavern owner; others credit Davy Crockett. But kudos to whomever did conceive the branding: Hell is where the trampled are forgotten. And if we don't correct that, we too may be cooked. The LGBTQ+ part of the Hell's Kitchen story picks up, somewhat joltingly, in the 1970s disco era. Funky! Following a post-World War II immigration wave from Puerto Rico, in sashayed a small but freewheeling nightlife scene for LGBTQ+ folks at the margins: drag queens and dolls and gay hustlers drifting over from Times Square in search of safer, more discreet community spaces. (For context, this was when a majority of Americans still supported sodomy laws criminalizing gay sex.) It was these early queer arrivals who helped clear the way for an influx of white-collar gay men in the late 1990s, those who'd been forced to flee skyrocketing rent prices in Chelsea and the West Village. And thus, the Hell's Kitchen gayborhood was born, with non-cis-heteros gaining status—after all that—as the dominant cultural force. Only here we are, in June 2025, at risk once again of forgetting what came before. Stand on the northwest corner of 39th Street and Eighth Avenue, and you'll find no trace that a queer hot spot called Escuelita once ruled the block. There's no plaque explaining that it was one of the city's longest-running LGBTQ+ nightclubs ever, or that the basement space (a former bowling alley) formed a vibrant refuge for the city's queer Latino and Black communities. You'll find no bronze statue of the club's glamorous showgirls or G-string go-go boys, no mural depicting the legendary merengue balls that happened here from the late 1970s to 2016, no tribute to the trans women of color who were menaced by cops on the strip. What you will find, however, is a Chipotle. This Pride season, one could say the white mobs have returned to Hell's Kitchen, only this time as chino-clad vacationers lining up for mass-produced burritos. The arc of the urban universe often bends toward this kind of sanitized assimilation, according to historian and writer Marc Zinaman, author of Queer Happened Here, and sociologist Amin Ghaziani, PhD, two queer-identifying experts who provided crucial context for this article. It commonly happens this way: LGBTQ+ people populate a gritty district, fancy it up, and make it attractive for tourists and straight couples with 2.5 children, who then pave the way for Really Rich People. Before long, few can recall that the TD Bank was once a horny bathhouse. The Hell's Kitchen of today rattles with the construction cacophony of million-dollar micro apartments billed as residences, while real estate brokers undertake a genteel crusade to rechristen the area 'Midtown West.' Now is when a neighborhood's nervy queer energy generally starts to circle the sewers. Except wait: Hell's Kitchen might not go down so easily. When Ghaziani published the seminal book 'There Goes the Gayborhood?' in 2014, an LGBTQ+ diaspora of sorts was under way. The American sociopolitical climate was feeling relatively accepting of gay stuff—call it the 'Love wins' era, or the Target 'Pride Collection' period. Many of Ghaziani's LGBTQ+ interview subjects at the time expressed a feeling of freedom and possibility, a sense that they could happily live in lots of different places. No longer did they need 'gay ghettoes' like the Village or San Francisco's Castro district, which had helped buffer LGBTQ+ people from criminalization and social stigma after World War II and formed the backdrop of queer activist uprisings in the 1960s and '70s. To say the pendulum has swung back since the 2010s would be a crude understatement. The LGBTQ+ community—our trans members, especially—are facing a full-throttle retrenchment of rights, sadistic campaigns of erasure hatched at the highest levels of government. A staggering 729 anti-trans bills are pending across the country as of this writing. Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has issued seven executive orders targeting LGBTQ+ people. For the year ended May 2025, GLAAD identified 932 anti-LGBTQ+ extremist incidents in the US, including 85 assaults, 20 bomb threats, 15 arson attempts, and 10 deaths. 'Somehow, even same-sex marriage is back on the legislative table, which is kind of shocking,' says Ghaziani, also the author of Long Live Queer Nightlife and a professor of sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. 'I think what we're starting to see as the world is flipping upside down is a rearticulation of needing each other once again, to respond to threats and hostility in a way that we have not seen in some time.' What that means is, gayborhoods like Hell's Kitchen could be poised to cycle back from being elective social spaces to something far more urgent. Ghaziani says, 'In times of threat and hostility, where do we go to find each other—for safety, for comfort, for processing our grief, and also for organizing a response? Quite frequently, we go to gay neighborhoods and gay bars. When we need them, that's precisely where we go.' It's Memorial Day weekend, and Vers bar is buzzing with pre-Pride month energy, which is to say it feels a little like Christmas Eve. Owner David DeParolesa finds me in the happy-hour crowd, grabs us a couple of seltzers, and squires me into a spacious booth. 'Hi!' I say. 'Hi!' he laughs. Three years into this venture and the magic still hasn't waned. He's doing it—fostering the sort of community he dreamed of as a lonely gay kid growing up in a rough part of Boston. DeParolesa arrived in New York 16 years ago with just a suitcase, crashing with girlfriends on the Upper East Side. He discovered Hell's Kitchen by wandering into it, crossing Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue and Broadway and then feeling the air shift. Unlike in some other city neighborhoods, no one here shouted homophobic slurs at him. He could breathe. He moved in and hasn't looked back. Opened in summer 2022 on Ninth Avenue between 48th and 49th, Vers aims to be a convivial, multipurpose space—a bar where you can party and grab a bite to eat and enjoy an actual conversation, like the one DeParolesa and I are having. A loungey '80s-inflected interior by architectural designer Douglas Kane sets the mood, marking a deliberate departure from the grimy gay dives that dot the city. 'Historically, those places were run by the Mafia, right?' DeParolesa says. 'You got a black wall, you got a urinal, you got a plastic cup: Here's your gay bar. Oh, and we'll raid you every so often.' Historian Marc Zinaman will later tell me that Mafia-run queer haunts hung on for a while in the Hell's Kitchen area, years after the 1969 Stonewall rebellion down in the Village. One of the last—and the one that may have burned brightest—was GG's Barnum Room, a circus-inspired discotheque on the neighborhood's periphery that was owned by associates of the Genovese crime family. 'It had this trapeze netting that hung above the dance floor, and gay men and trans women of color performed as acrobats, doing movements while patrons danced underneath them,' Zinaman says. 'There was probably some sex work happening there too; many in the trans community considered GG's a safe space.' GG's lasted just two years, from 1978 to 1980. Trans women may not have owned it, but for a blip, they made it theirs. DeParolesa is mindful of his place in history—and of New York's position in the world. 'Whatever you do here is propelled outside the walls of the city,' he says. So he's also thinking of Vers as a politically conscious space. One of his favorite nights was a 2023 live benefit the team pulled together after Tennessee and Kentucky lawmakers initiated a crackdown on drag performances and gender-affirming care for trans youth. In just a few hours, Vers raised $7,000 for the ACLU and grassroots groups helping kids on the ground. That need is now greater than ever, following this month's devastating Supreme Court ruling. 'I have a friend who works for the ACLU and he's, like, 'David, you don't understand the privilege of being gay in New York.' But I kind of do,' DeParolesa says. 'What I'm hearing and what I'm feeling is that we're still in positions of power enough to push where we need to push, and that the best thing we can do right now is support those who really need the help.' Kate Barnhart begins by telling me about her dad. At the headquarters of New Alternatives, the nonprofit Barnhart founded in 2008, I'm here to learn about the organization's work in reducing homelessness among LGBTQ+ teens and young adults in the five boroughs, who make up a disproportionate 40% of the city's unhoused youth population. That work is inextricable from Barnhart's earliest experiences in the Hell's Kitchen housing landscape, she tells me. Barnhart's father, a schoolteacher and occasional actor, lived most of his life in a fourth-floor co-op on West 55th Street between 10th and 11th. The building was one of several Hell's Kitchen tenements the city had taken over, then renovated, then sold back to the original residents at a miraculous bargain. (Side note: A group of Hell's Kitchen tenants are currently engaged in a similar push, working to secure ownership of two dilapidated buildings through a community land trust.) Most of the residents were low-income. Many, like Barnhart's dad, were LGBTQ+ theater types. As an '80s kid—and queer herself—Barnhart saw and felt the positive impacts of affordable permanent housing: neighbors putting down real roots; the genesis of vital community. 'Because of how it was to be queer at a certain point in time, these were people who didn't necessarily have other families,' she says. When her father's health declined, it was his neighbor of 50 years—a makeup artist named Charlie—who informed Barnhart her dad had been straying from his apartment late at night in a disoriented state. Charlie had even cooked her dad eggs and put him back to bed a few times. (Barnhart hired a live-in caretaker after that.) Eventually, her father was able to die in the home he loved. A young man who had grown up in the building stood in salute as paramedics took away the body. Meaningful long-term relationships are a hallmark of the New Alternatives approach. Last year, Barnhart's team held 693 individual case management sessions, helping clients one-on-one with everything from employment support to psychiatric crisis intervention. That's on top of regular life skills workshops, HIV support groups, weekly free dinners, and fun outings like kayaking and museum trips. Twenty-one clients out of 287 total secured permanent housing in 2024, a major triumph. This year, the caseload has grown to include more young people from outside the city: trans teens bailing on the South and Midwest; migrant youth fleeing persecution in their home countries. 'Both groups are really freaked out,' Barnhart says. The staff is working hard to provide political education, to adapt services for more languages. They've run drills on what to do if masked ICE agents show up. (Despite New York's status as a 'sanctuary city,' the Trump administration's militarized mass-deportation blitz has hit local immigration courts, college campuses, apartment complexes, and more.) Corporate and individual donations are down so far this year—another sign of the times. It's unclear how long New Alternatives can hang on to its rented space in Metro Baptist Church. From her Pride-flag-adorned desk, Barnhart directs my eye to the room's buckling windows. She describes how the building façade leaks and crumbles. The roof… Forget it. A proposed redevelopment plan for the nearby Port Authority bus terminal might pose additional structural hazards. In this market, moving might not be possible. Some days are crushingly hard. 'A lot of what we fought for for many years, including generations before us, is being taken away,' Barnhart says. 'It's really disturbing that we can't offer people safety or even predict what might happen anymore.' So the team zeroes in on their locus of control. Downstairs, a math tutoring session is underway. A yoga class will convene later tonight. Gloved kitchen volunteers stand over huge bowls, hand-mixing ingredients for meatballs. Sunday dinner service begins at 6:00. Let it be known: Flex is a gay bar. It is a gay bar owned by gay men who seek to preserve and uplift gay culture. Co-owners James Healey and Jason Mann are telling me this in words. The neon lighting installation on the wall behind them—depicting a huge cock in money-shot mode—is telling me in inches. The Hell's Kitchen couple opened Flex two summers ago in the former home of Posh, a bar that helped define the neighborhood's party culture for cis gay men, Zinaman notes in Queer Happened Here. After a quarter century of late-night ragers and community noise complaints, Posh shuttered in 2021, one of roughly nine LGBTQ+ bars in the area that did so during the depths of COVID. One former patron fondly told me about a time an upstairs tenant flung water balloons to disperse the rowdy crowd. ('It just added to the excitement and ridiculousness.') RIP. For Healey and Mann, Posh's closure was a lightbulb moment: This needs to remain a safe space for the LGBTQ community. So the first-time bar owners took over the spot with legacy in mind—if a slightly more mannered agenda. Their design team restored the beat-up brick walls, then meticulously renovated the space with an haute red-light-district aesthetic, drawing from the pair's travels in Amsterdam and Berlin. The team also upgraded the building's hundred-year-old gas and water lines, and scraped and cleaned the façade…possibly for the first time ever. The ceiling is now double-soundproofed, even though that meant sacrificing the original tiles. 'We wanted the upstairs tenants to come enjoy the space and not go home and be miserable,' Healey says. 'And so far, that's been the case. The neighborhood's been super great.' The two also own the Ben & Jerry's next door, another balm. A low-relief wall sculpture by Colombian-born neighborhood artist Jo Mar pays splendorous tribute to a crew of gay male bartenders from New York City gay bars, repping present and bygone institutions such as Splash Bar and Boots & Saddle. The basis of the artwork? A shirtless group photo shoot. 'Yeah, it was a fun day,' Healey says before I can ask. Honoring their own makes sense in a world that seems intent on scrubbing queer culture from the public record. As Zinaman tells me, 'Landmarking spaces generally has a lot of government involvement and politicking. The question of 'What is a landmark?' still isn't defined.' No matter: The Flex mural seems defined enough for me. I snap a pic and vow to remember. New York is a wild town. That's all I can think as I sit in the stained-glass glow of Reverend Pat Bumgardner's office at the Metropolitan Community Church of New York on West 36th Street. Is it possible that I am speaking with the pastor who personally ministered to Sylvia Rivera (1951–2002), the pioneering trans revolutionary who fought with heroic courage for people marginalized by the mainstream (white) gay rights movement? History really is everywhere, and so very close. I'm not religious myself, but I do slip into a light devotional trance as Bumgardner describes how the spiritual alliance came about: 'I met Sylvia in a demonstration. We were marching to City Hall, and somehow, we ended up beside each other in the sea of people. She had been familiar with Troy Perry, who was the founder of Metropolitan Community Churches. So we started talking. I invited her to church. She was pretty anti-church. This would have been probably, like, late '90s or 2000, something like that. But she came. She came one Sunday, and much to her surprise, I think, she got a standing ovation. People here, because of how we view the gospel as a radical social manifesto—that's what it's about—knew who she was and what she had done for us, and I think it kind of took her breath away, in a sense, surprised her. So she kept coming, and she was baptized here. There's a picture of her in this long velvet cape; that's how she dressed up for her baptism. It was on Epiphany Sunday. She looks like one of the Magi.' I get why Rivera stuck around and ended up running the church's food pantry: Rev. Pat is a baddie too. I come to learn she's been holding it down for this LGBTQ-affirming Christian congregation for 44 years, 32 in Hell's Kitchen. The church (part of a national fellowship) bought the building in 1993, when many members were still scared of the neighborhood. 'My partner—my wife—sat out front in the car overnight just to see what happened on the street,' Bumgardner says. 'And what we discovered was, it's just people trading sex for survival.' She took her findings back to the church community: 'It's not a big deal. You're safe. You're fine.' These days, she says, members are far more worried about resisting repression and bigotry. They're looking to church leaders not just for guidance on how to cope but what to do—it's just that kind of place. Bumgardner guides the flock toward tangible actions, things people can actually execute and show up for, such as letter-writing campaigns, local demonstrations like the upcoming Queer Liberation March, and support tasks for the church's food pantry and emergency LGBTQ+ youth shelter, both of which are named for Rivera. Reflection is helpful too, she says. 'I encourage people to think more deeply about how Hell's Kitchen could be a center for what New York is supposed to be. Like, the center of the world, where everybody has a place, can get their needs met, and feels safe—not because there are 10,000 police on the street, but safe because we value diversity and want to build a realm where it's possible to just be who you are.' After my meeting with Rev. Pat, I decide to check out the congregation at TMPL, a 49th Street gym unofficially known as the neighborhood's gayest fitness outpost. Here, members pay $200 a month for a nightclubby ambience, spa-like locker room amenities, and classes with coy, heretical names like 'Holy Water Resurrection,' which meets Wednesdays in the 25-meter saltwater pool. Culture + Lifestyle Lesbian Bars Are Back From the Brink An uptick in the number of spaces for queer women holds promise for the future CEO Patrick Walsh, who's presided over the TMPL chainlet since acquiring it from fitness titan David Barton in 2017, has other business interests too—namely, as a key early investor in Donald Trump's Truth Social platform, where the president has spent this Pride month fulminating against 'radical left Democrats' maneuvering to destroy New York City through 'Open Borders, Transgender for Everybody, and Men Playing in Women's Sports.' The muscled midday crowd streams through the TMPL entrance. I loiter on the curb rewatching Sylvia Rivera's ferocious 1973 speech at the Christopher Street Liberation Day Rally, in which she excoriates New York's gay 'middle-class white club.' That club feels literal here, complete with a juice bar. In a visibly queer neighborhood like this, it's easy to assume everyone's values are aligned, says four-year resident Connor Johnston, 32, an actor and writer originally from Oregon who video-chatted with me about his life as a proud 'Hell's Kitchen gay.' 'We don't say too much about politics because it's just…understood,' he intones. In the discussions he has had, he's been surprised to learn where some people stand on Trump, or on Palestine. 'It's strange,' Johnston says uneasily, then jokes, 'Should we do a wellness check? Maybe we should go around and be, like, 'We're all on the same page here…right?'' Even though some threads unite the LGBTQ+ community, class is one factor that plays into political differences. And in this neighborhood—the same one abandoned by shady landlords during the citywide fiscal crisis and 'white flight' exodus of the 1970s—median monthly rent climbed 8.3 percent year over year this past February to $4,550, outpacing the average Manhattan median rent increase of 6.4 percent. Meanwhile, median household income now hovers around $127,380, which is 60% more than the citywide median of $79,480. Hell's Kitchen is about 50% white, according to recent population figures, about 20 percentage points whiter than New York City on average. Johnston, who is Asian, is often struck by the homogeneity at neighborhood parties and bars: Is anyone else clocking this? In addition to more diversity, Johnston would love to see greater candor on these and other issues. Before even moving to Hell's Kitchen, he commuted in regularly from Queens for volunteer shifts on the Trevor Project's crisis hotline for LGBTQ+ youth, which, at the time, had a call center on 35th and 8th. In other words, sensitive conversations are kind of his specialty. (I too was a Trevor counselor.) Now that he lives here, Johnston has made dear friends within walking distance, plugged in with a local organizing group, and found the line between breezy belonging and social responsibility. 'It's not like, 'Okay, we did it. We made this area,'' Johnston says. He accepts that Hell's Kitchen will always be a project. 'I love her,' he says. 'I'll never leave.' As you head west through the neighborhood, Pride flags gradually give way to sweep notices—official warnings the city issues to unhoused community members seen camping on public property. In short: Move along or we'll confiscate all your stuff. The notices are a stark reminder that high rent costs drive homelessness, which climbed 53.1 percent in New York State between January 2023 and January 2024. Ninety-three percent of that surge came from New York City. Enforced by police with varying levels of aggression, encampment sweeps are the subject of an ongoing federal lawsuit against the city, with homeless and formerly homeless plaintiffs alleging violations of constitutional protections against illegal search and seizure. And legal or not, many critics denounce the sweeps as cruel. I chat with folks in a sidewalk encampment on West 45th Street between 11th and 12th who've been hit with a sweep notice for the following day. Soon, they'll have to pack up everything in sight: clothing, personal documents, shelf-stable food items, tents, tarps, toiletries, blankets, umbrellas, books, some found objects (a vintage wall clock, a pair of subwoofer speakers) they could sell for cash later on. Then they'll have to scope out other spots on which to set up and sleep—that is, until the next flurry of sweep notices appears. Street displacement in Hell's Kitchen always ramps up during Pride season, they tell me, when business owners and partying visitors call in complaints to the city's 311 hotline. The New York City Police Department did not respond to an emailed request for comment on the timing of Hell's Kitchen sweeps. Commenting by phone, Hell's Kitchen City Council rep Erik Bottcher (D) tells me, 'We don't want the unhoused to be policed out of the neighborhood. Pride shouldn't be an excuse to sweep anyone out. We do want people to get connected to housing resources and services, and that's why we've been fighting to make sure that those are available.' By way of example, Bottcher cites a new 24-hour drop-in center on 52nd Street and 9th Avenue that provides case management, showers, hot meals, and more. Still, whatever the lattice of services, people continue to slip through. An encampment resident named Andre McLeod says he'd like to speak on the record. He notices me admiring his fit: a short-sleeve button-up that shows off his toned biceps, a trucker hat that reads 'King,' and layered silver necklaces that glint in the searing afternoon sun. 'To look at me, you'd never know,' he says. The Brooklyn-born 45-year-old explains he's had a number of occupational seasons in his life and an often comfortable ride: star quarterback in college, a pro stint playing in Italy, a role as national youth athletics coach and scout, and a brush with acting and modeling. Eventually he followed the men in his family and pivoted to construction with a focus in transport infrastructure: the Kosciuszko Bridge replacement, the 7 subway line extension. He ran into some hardships along the way—drugs and such. When the work dried up, he came to Hell's Kitchen, where he's been on and off the streets for five years, using his trade skills to teach others how to tie down belongings securely, how to stack stuff on wheels for quicker escape—a convoy of wagons and rolling suitcases and granny carts. The way McLeod tells it, Hell's Kitchen underwent a weird vibe shift during the pandemic. People got sucked into simulated realities on Facebook, began living through their devices like in The Matrix. Sometimes, for fun, he'll try to catch the eye of a stranger and toss out a few kind words as a pulse check: Yo, nice kicks! 'People don't even know how to take compliments,' he says. 'No energy, no personality, like a foreign city.' So he's grateful for the connections he has made out here, his circle of fellow 'urban campers,' at least two of whom are LGBTQ+. 'Midtown is my home, y'know? And this is my family,' he says. 'I genuinely care about people. I hope everyone makes it out.' McLeod's community also includes his hair stylist at Diamond Cuts Barber Shop on 40th and 8th; the old guy at the liquor store up the block; the neighbor in business attire who passes us across the street and catches this interview in progress. 'Hey, he's a nice guy!' the neighbor calls out to me, gesturing toward McLeod. 'He has lots of potential!' McLeod laughs from inside the tent I'll help take down the next morning, before the city can clear it away. 'God bless!' he shouts back. 'I know, man! I gotchu! ' Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest More Great Stories From AD Not a subscriber? Join AD for print and digital access now. Axel Vervoordt Crafts a Poetic Home in the Belgian Countryside For His Family The 15 Best Places to Buy Bedding of All Kinds What Makes a Space Gay? Unpacking Queer Interiors
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- USA Today
P Diddy trial recap: Jury begins deliberations, warns one juror may not follow instructions
This story contains graphic descriptions that some readers may find disturbing. Sean "Diddy" Combs' fate is in the hands of 12 jurors as they deliberate a verdict in the embattled hip-hop mogul's criminal trial. The jury, which has heard graphic testimony on Combs' alleged abuses from more than 30 witnesses, gathered again in Manhattan court on June 30 to begin deliberations following the completion of closing arguments. One strange moment surprised court watchers in the afternoon: the jury sent a note to Judge Arun Subramanian saying they were concerned a juror wouldn't follow the pivotal instructions they were given at the start of their process. The judge sent the jury back to work and didn't replace the juror with an alternate. It wasn't immediately clear if the moment was a speed bump in deliberations – or a sign of more issues to come. Combs' lawyer Marc Agnifilo on June 27 framed the case as a "tale of two trials." He argued the case is about love, jealousy and money, not trafficking or racketeering. He accused the government of putting on a show to target a wealthy celebrity. Diddy on trial newsletter: Step inside the courtroom as music mogul faces sex-crimes charges Agnifilo claimed prosecutors distorted the Grammy-winning rapper's consensual sexual "lifestyle" into criminal acts while witnesses spoke of the "successful Black entrepreneur" as a respected and generous figure. Meanwhile, prosecutor Maurene Comey returned to the floor after Agnifilo's closing argument to present the government's rebuttal, focusing on previous remarks on Combs' former girlfriend Casandra "Cassie" Ventura Fine: "Mr. Agnifilo suggested Cassie was the winner of a prize. Black eyes? A gash in her head? Getting urinated in her mouth? How could anyone think that's a prize? That's ridiculous." Combs, 55, was arrested in September and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty. Jurors ask question about drug accusation, wrap up first day of deliberations As jury deliberations continued into the afternoon, jurors sent a question to the judge about how they should assess the drug distribution allegation against Combs. Subramanian will get an answer to the jurors in the morning, as they adjourned for the day and returned to their homes. Diddy's star-studded trial: The celebrities mentioned in court Before his precipitous downfall, Combs was a pop-culture supernova with innumerable stars in his orbit. Throughout nearly two months of testimony, attorneys and witnesses alike have name-checked several celebrities as they've excavated nearly two decades of Combs' apparent criminal past. They've recounted nights of partying with Prince, Stevie Wonder and Muhammad Ali, some of which ended in Combs allegedly assaulting his girlfriends or forcing them into "freak offs" with escorts. Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne and Rick Ross were referenced in court, as defense tried to illustrate the powerful connections that Combs helped afford to Ventura Fine. Michael B. Jordan, 50 Cent and Suge Knight were all subjects of Combs' ire, while Usher and Danity Kane's Dawn Richard were both on the sidelines of allegedly violent incidents. You can read more here about some of the most notable A-listers to find their way into the Diddy trial. Jury says one juror may not be able to follow instructions The jury asked Subramanian for guidance about one juror who they warned may not be able to follow the judge's instructions about the law. Their note, which Subramanian read aloud in open court, read in part, "We have a juror, number 25, who we are concerned cannot follow your honor's instructions." The note did not elaborate on which instructions the juror potentially cannot follow. The jurors are anonymous. After discussing the note with prosecutors and defense lawyers, Subramanian said he would send a note back to the jury reminding them of their obligations but take no further action for now. Juror number 25 described himself during jury selection on May 5 as a 51-year-old veterinarian who lives in Manhattan with his domestic partner, a freelance graphic designer. The juror said he has a doctorate in molecular biology and neuroscience, and enjoys nature documentaries, opera and hiking. Could Diddy go to prison? Yes. If convicted on the racketeering charge, Combs could face life in prison, while the statutory minimum sentence for sex trafficking is 15 years and for transportation to engage in prostitution is a maximum of 10 years. A mixed verdict – convicted on some, but not all charges – could add up to any number of years. Judge in Diddy case outlines racketeering The longest section of instructions given to jurors centered around Combs' first charge: racketeering. Subramanian went through the eight accusations included in the charge, which fall under the umbrella of kidnapping, arson, bribery, possession with intent to distribute narcotics, sex trafficking, witness tampering, forced labor and transportation for the purpose of prostitution. In order to find Combs guilty, the jury must believe he committed two of the eight crimes, Subramanian said. Judge explains sex trafficking, prostitution charges For Combs' sex trafficking charge, Subramanian said the jury would need to find that there was a threat of psychological, financial or reputational harm against the rapper's alleged victims. The judge defined a commercial sex act as something given in exchange for the sexual act. That doesn't always have to be money, he clarified. It can be an object or a thing. The sex act also doesn't need to have actually happened, as long as the intent was clear and there was an exchange of money or other perks. Diddy stares down jurors as they receive instructions Combs' sex-crimes trial is now in the hands of 12 jurors as they kick off their deliberations. There is no timeframe for their process, and any verdict must be unanimous. "You can see it's long, but I'm going to try to make it interesting while I'm reading it," Subramanian said before launching into instructions for the panel. He explained that if they believe Combs is guilty of his charges, it must be beyond a reasonable doubt. Combs could be seen putting on glasses and looking directly at the jury box as they received instructions. He leaned back in his chair, legs crossed. Combs' family was seated in the front row, and his daughters could be seen whispering to each other. After marathon Diddy trial, judge thanks jurors and lawyers Before the jury started deliberations, Subramanian dismissed the six alternate jurors who have attended the trial daily, just in case a juror had to bow out or be removed from the proceedings. The judge thanked the alternate jurors, adding that they would get his personal phone number "if you have any questions, if you would like a tour of the courthouse, anything I can do." Subramanian also thanked attorneys on both sides. "The case was really exceptionally tried," he said, thanking both the prosecutorial and defense teams for letting younger lawyers take on substantial parts of the case. "It's vital to the profession," he said. While the jury deliberates, Combs will remain in jail. He had a request for books he could bring with him, though the specific works weren't released publicly. Diddy trial jury can't watch news, research case online Subramanian reiterated that jurors cannot conduct any independent research, including going online or watching the news while they're deliberating. The jurors should not judge Combs for deciding not to testify, he added. "Remember at all times you are not partisans, you are judges of the fact," Subramanian said. The jury was dismissed to deliberate at 11:30 a.m. There was a brief objection from prosecutors about evidence provided to the jury, specifically some Blackberry messages that they said had leading subject lines. That included one that read "I'm so horny, I can't concentrate" and others about Combs doing whatever he wanted sexually. The judge agreed that all the subject lines in the evidence should be neutral. What happens next? Subramanian began delivering legal instructions to the jury in Manhattan federal court on June 30. Once the judge finishes, the 12-member jury will begin deliberating. What is Diddy's net worth? Still wealthy, but now worth almost half as much: Forbes In 2024, Forbes magazine estimated Combs' net worth at $400 million – a significant drop from its 2019 figure of $740 million. Both Combs and his team later claimed he was a billionaire, Forbes said, despite offering no documentation to back up the claim. According to publicly available documents and news reports, Combs' most valuable personal possession is likely his 17,000-square-foot, 10-bedroom mansion, appraised at more than $61 million, in the tony Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles. It was raided as part of a criminal probe and listed for sale last September. Diddy's lawyer encourages jurors to 'return' him 'to his family' Appealing to jurors as Combs' "peers" and praising the country's due process, Agnifilo told the jury on June 27: "Today, you guys are the United States of America. This is your house. I'm asking you to acquit Sean Combs." He added that Combs "sits there innocent. Return him to his family, who have been waiting for him." He took aim again at U.S. attorneys when he said, "The Cassie lawsuit went out, and these guys wanted to make a case because of Sean Combs. It's not a real case." Prosecutors say Diddy's exes Cassie and 'Jane,' former assistant 'Mia' have 'no reason to lie' Contradicting Agnifilo during the June 27 hearing, Comey said participation in Combs' alleged sexual performances was different from preferences for the beach or lemonade: These women were awake for days, covered in oil, wearing 8-inch heels, often with a UTI and having unprotected sex with strangers, she said. "What the defense is suggesting is that these women lied to you repeatedly," Comey said. "But these women have no reason to lie. They have no motive to lie at all." Comey also talked about the confusing feelings about untangling love and abuse, noting victims will often try to justify what happened to them. "Finding meaning and happiness in trauma does not mean the trauma never happened," Comey said. "It's healing." Discover WITNESS: Access our exclusive collection of true crime stories, podcasts, videos and more Did Diddy's trial charges get dropped? No, none of the charges from Combs' federal indictment have been formally dropped. But in a June 24 letter to Judge Subramanian, prosecutors revealed they were withdrawing some of their criminal allegations ahead of closing arguments. U.S. attorneys said they don't want jurors to consider their previous claims that Combs allegedly engaged in racketeering by attempting kidnapping in California and New York, attempting arson in California, and aiding and abetting sex trafficking. The move was made as part of an effort to "streamline" jury instructions. Despite the tossed allegations, Combs' indictment accused him not just of attempting arson and kidnapping, but also of committing these crimes outright as part of a criminal conspiracy. Is Diddy in jail? The disgraced music mogul is in custody, and despite repeated attempts at bail, has remained confined to the Special Housing Unit in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center. He has been in jail since his arrest on Sept. 16, 2024. Has Diddy trial reached a verdict? No, a verdict has not yet been reached in Combs' criminal case. After more than a month of harrowing testimony from several of Combs' associates, the prosecution rested its case on June 24. Meanwhile, Combs' lawyers rested their case in less than half an hour, with the defense opting not to call any witnesses to the stand. Although the music mogul's alleged abuse is at the center of the trial, Combs told the court he would not be testifying. Closing arguments concluded June 27. Jury deliberations are expected to begin Monday, June 30, following instructions from Judge Subramanian. What is Diddy charged with? Combs is facing federal sex-crimes and trafficking charges in a sprawling case that has eroded his status as a power player and kingmaker in the entertainment industry. He was arrested in September 2024 and later charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. The rapper has pleaded not guilty to the five counts against him. What is racketeering? Racketeering is the participation in an illegal scheme under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Statute, or RICO, as a way for the U.S. government to prosecute organizations that contribute to criminal activity. Using RICO law, which is typically aimed at targeting multi-person criminal organizations, prosecutors allege that Combs coerced victims, some of whom they say were sex workers, through intimidation and narcotics to participate in "freak offs" — sometimes dayslong sex performances that federal prosecutors allege they have on video. How to stream the Diddy trial The trial will not be televised, as cameras are typically not allowed in federal criminal trial proceedings. USA TODAY will be reporting live from the courtroom. Sign up for our newsletter for more updates. Contributing: USA TODAY staff, Reuters If you are a survivor of sexual assault, RAINN offers support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline at (4673) and and en Español If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 or text "START" to 88788.
