What to know about the trial
- Sean “Diddy” Combs was acquitted of racketeering and sex trafficking charges today and found guilty on two lesser charges of transportation of former girlfriends for prostitution.
- The verdict is seen as a victory for Combs, who was cleared of the most serious charges. His defense team opted not to call witnesses before it rested.
- The judge denied bail, and Combs will remain detained until his sentencing, which has been set for this fall.
- Prosecutors said they will seek a four- to five-year prison sentence.
- Combs has vociferously denied the allegations.
- Sign up for the “Diddy on Trial” newsletter for key developments and analysis; listen to the podcast “Dateline: True Crime Weekly” for daily coverage.
One New Yorker stumbled upon the final day of the trial
To stumble upon the final day of Combs' trial by chance sounds nearly impossible, but a spectator outside the courthouse this evening had no intention of being there when her day started.
She said she's from Brooklyn and doesn't spend much time in Manhattan, where the federal courthouse in New York is. She said she stopped in her tracks when she saw the crowds outside the building. Instead of continuing on, she and her friends stayed to watch.
She has followed the trial online and isn't a fan of Combs. "I know people are here to get the gossip, but he's a weirdo!" she said. She said she's glad he wasn't released on bail because of what she has learned throughout the trial.
"Do not let him out! Please, don't let him out," she said. "What he did was crazy."
Even so, she said she'd make the trip back across boroughs to stand outside another federal court case "if it gets spicy," she said.
New York's hottest ticket was the last day of Combs' trial
Tyrone Jones and his friend Jarva Land wanted to secure a spot inside the courthouse today, which they knew was no easy feat.
To make it happen, they slept on a bench — padded with two layers of cardboard — outside the courthouse last night. Their method proved successful — they were sixth in line and made it to the overflow room with no problem.
"It's my first time ever seeing something like this, a spectacle like this," Jones, who is from Rhode Island, told NBC News after Combs' bail hearing wrapped for the day and crowds at 500 Pearl St. began to thin.
Jarva, on the other hand, is no stranger to such a "spectacle." She said that she does "independent art media" and that she has been covering Comb's trial, and other hearings, voraciously. She said she has slept on the bench plenty of times to ensure a spot inside.
She was inspired to start her work, she said, because of skepticism of traditional media. Her first trial was the Ghislaine Maxwell trial.
"This is the best option, to go to the court case and find out," Jarva said. "This is how our world works in the court system."
But she's not streaming her feeds online.
She said she mainly works on capturing trials through art and has put on displays of drawings from inside some of the city's major trials. She hopes people can see and "experience the art and really kind of understand, kind of have the experience of the information of being there in the courtroom."
She said she agreed with the jury — that prosecutors didn't build a strong enough case to prove racketeering charges against Combs. She said the team heavily focused on the sexual abuse charges — "the real victims" — adding that that such charges can get "lost in the sauce" in trying to prove bigger and more complicated charges, like the RICO charge.
Her words prompted Jones to chime in on key witness Cassie Ventura's behalf. "Where are the Cassie defenders? She was abused. ... I don't support that," Jones said.
Combs still in jail, but he'll 'sleep well' tonight
Combs will "sleep well" tonight despite remaining in jail.
"This is a huge win," defense lawyer Anna Estevao said outside court, celebrating three acquittals won for her client.
"He was acquitted of sex trafficking, acquitted of RICO conspiracy, he will be able to sleep well at night knowing that."
Combs' attorney urges public to 'accept the call' of jury duty
Combs attorney Xavier Donaldson urged people to "accept the call" to serve jury duty in his posttrial comments outside the courthouse.
"We need good people to serve on juries," Donaldson said. "We need good people to come and say a person is not guilty."
Geragos thanks Combs and the jury in posttrial comments
Teny Geragos thanked Combs for assembling a "dream team" of attorneys, as well as the jury for the hard work it put in every day of the trial.
"As I said in my opening, standing between all of us and the drastic consequences of the criminal convictions of sex trafficking and RICO is a jury of our peers," she said.
She added that Combs "has not sexually assaulted anyone" and that the media has gotten it wrong about Combs for nearly two years.
Combs faces multiple civil lawsuits brought by plaintiffs who did not testify at this trial. The threshold for civil cases is a "preponderance of evidence," which is lower than the standard of "beyond a reasonable doubt" required in criminal cases.
Defense attorney: 'It’s a great victory for Sean Combs'
Agnifilo celebrated his side's partial victory.
"It’s a great victory for Sean Combs. It’s a great victory for the jury system," he said. "You saw that the Southern District of New York prosecutors came at him with all that they had."
He thanked jurors.
"One one thing stands between all of us and a prison, and that is a jury of 12 citizens," Agnifilo said.
Mark Geragos proud of his lawyer daughter
Proud dad Mark Geragos blasted the prosecution's "ridiculous use of taxpayer resources" and labeled the case "a colossal failure."
The famed Southern California lawyer is the father of Combs' defense attorney Teny Geragos ,and he beamed with pride.
"As a helicopter parent, I couldn’t be prouder," he told reporters outside court.
Combs family leaves court holding hands
Combs' mother, sons and daughters exited the courthouse, silent as they walked by reporters stationed outside the doors.
The women held hands as they walked by on the side of Combs' sons. Onlookers shouted at the family as they made their way into the van.
Combs passed notes to his attorney as they argued for his release
Combs was passing notes to Agnifilo as Agnifilo spoke to the judge to argue for Combs' release.
After Agnifilo finished, Combs raised his hand and started to get up, seemingly to speak. Agnifilo told the judge he would find out what Combs had to say, and Combs' attorneys rushed to speak with him.
Ultimately, he did not end up saying anything.
A 'freak off' isn't criminal, according to T-shirt
Combs beat a racketeering conspiracy charge when jurors found that he wasn't the head of a criminal conspiracy to organize his infamous "freak off" sessions.
A T-shirt-hawking entrepreneur made the most of the verdict outside court, saying Combs' sexual desires don't make him a violator of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
