What it was like in court for start of P Diddy trial – as gasps heard from public gallery
In September 2023, crowds packed Times Square, cheering, and taking pictures as Sean “Diddy” Combs received the key to the city, an honour bestowed on him by the New York City mayor who called Combs the “bad boy of entertainment”.
Less than two years later and just three miles down the road, people were now queueing around the block to secure a spot to see him inside the courtroom to face charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation for prostitution.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial: As it happened
The fall from grace of this music mogul has been sharp and shocking.
Mayor Eric Adams presenting the key to the city to Combs in New York’s Times Square in September 2023. Pic: AP
The contrast of the image of him that day, holding a giant gold plated key aloft, his sleek black hair neatly groomed and wearing expensive jewellery with the man sitting at the defence table is stark.
After spending seven months imprisoned at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center, Combs’s hair is now fully grey, his beard overgrown.
Combs’s mother Janice Combs, centre, was among those who attended court. Pic: AP
His mother Janice arrived at the court in a black SUV. I asked her how her son was feeling ahead of the first day of evidence in this case but she remained stony faced.
Combs’s sons Justin and King and his 17-year-old twin daughters, D’Lila Star and Jessie James, followed behind in a large people carrier van with other family members.
Sean Diddy Combs, centre, motions a heart gesture to his family. Pic: AP
When Combs was escorted into the courtroom he waved and blew a kiss to his family, who were seated in the second row of the public gallery.
They may never again see him as a free man, with the most serious charges against him carrying a possible life prison sentence.
Combs’s son King Combs, centre, was among those who attended court. Pic: AP
Combs, who was wearing a cream jumper, grey trousers and dark-rimmed glasses embraced members of his defence team when he arrived. He listened intently as the prosecution painted a picture of a violent monster, sometimes taking notes.
Read more: Combs forced women into ‘freak offs’, jurors told
Combs used his business empire and considerable power, the government said, to force women into sex, to beat them and then to cover it up.
There were gasps from the public gallery in the overflow courtroom as prosecutor Emily Johnson delivered the opening statement, especially as she mentioned disturbing detail about Combs’s alleged drug-fuelled sex parties, which he called “freak offs”.
Read more:
The rise and fall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
Diddy – a timeline of allegations
Everything you need to know about the trial
Sean “Diddy” Combs’s son Justin Combs, centre. Pic: AP
The prosecution’s star witness will be Cassie Ventura. The pop star was in a relationship with Combs for eleven years.
Her husband Alex Fine was in court as the trial began in earnest and Cassie is expected to begin giving evidence on Tuesday morning.
She is heavily pregnant and may choose to make a low profile entrance into the courthouse, avoiding the scrum of national and international media outside.
Even before the first day concluded, people were already queuing for a seat in the public gallery tomorrow. Those at the front of the line are being paid (between $25 to $40 an hour) to hold a spot for others.
These “professional line sitters” will be here outside the courthouse overnight when it is expected to rain. P Diddy is used to being the hottest ticket in town but he presumably never imagined it would be in these circumstances. He denies all the charges against him.
Children are among the fatalities in a mass shooting at a child’s birthday party in California.
Police said four people had died and 10 were wounded in the incident in Stockton, about 60 miles east of San Francisco.
Officers were called on Saturday to a banquet hall just before 6pm local time (2am UK time) and district attorney Ron Freitas said children were among the dead.
He said the attacker was still at large.
First responders walk through a parking lot near the scene of a mass shooting in Stockton, California. Pics: AP
“We can confirm at this time that approximately 14 individuals were struck by gunfire, and four victims have been confirmed deceased,” San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said on X.
The post said early indications suggest it could be a “targeted incident” but that information remains limited.
Police have so far not disclosed the attacker’s identity and the motive is unclear.
Stockton’s vice mayor Jason Lee confirmed on Facebook that the shooting on Lucile Avenue happened at a child’s birthday party.
Pics: AP
Mayor Christina Fugazzi also said that “families should be together instead of at the hospital, standing next to their loved one, praying that they survive”.
California governor Gavin Newsom’s office added that he had been briefed on the “horrific shooting”.
Venezuela has accused Donald Trump of a “colonial threat” after he said the airspace “above and surrounding” the country should be considered closed “in its entirety”.
Mr Trump made the declaration amid growing tensions with President Maduro – and as the US continues attacking boats it claims are carrying drugs from Venezuela.
He wrote on Truth Social: “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”
Air traffic above Venezuela on Saturday afternoon. Pic: FlightRadar24
Venezuela’s foreign affairs office called it a “colonial threat” and “illegal, and unjustified aggression”.
It accused the president of threatening “the sovereignty of the national airspace… and the full sovereignty of the Venezuelan state”.
President Trump’s words were part of a “permanent policy of aggression against our country” that breached international law and the UN Charter, it added.
The Pentagon and the White House have so far not given any additional detail on the president’s statement.
Mr Trump’s post comes after the American aviation regulator last week warned of a “potentially hazardous situation” over Venezuela due to a “worsening security situation”.
Nicolas Maduro is widely considered a dictator by the West. Pic: Reuters
The South American nation revoked operating rights for six major airlines that went on to suspend flights to the country.
Mr Trump warned a few days ago that land operations against suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers would begin “very soon”.
Such a move would be a major escalation in Operation Southern Spear – the US naval deployment in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific that’s so far attacked at least 21 vessels.
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Three killed as US strikes another alleged drug boat
Venezuela has said the attacks, which have killed more than 80 people, amount to murder.
The US has released videos of boats being targeted, but hasn’t provided evidence – such as photos of their cargo – to support the smuggling claims.
Read more:
Trump may have another motive in war on drugs
The US-Venezuela crisis explained
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Venezuela claims Trump creating ‘fables’ to justify ‘war’
The Pentagon has sought to justify the strikes by labelling the drug gangs as “foreign terrorist organisations” – putting them on par with the likes of al Qaeda.
It claims the boats targeted are carrying drugs bound for the US, although Sky’s chief correspondent says the final destination is likely to be Europe and West Africa.
President Maduro has denied Mr Trump’s claims he is involved in the drugs trade himself and said his counterpart wants to oust him so he can install a more sympathetic government.
Venezuelan officials have also claimed Mr Trump’s true motivation is access to the country’s plentiful oil reserves.
Mr Maduro is widely considered a dictator who’s cheated elections and has been president since 2013.
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