Sean Diddy‘s mother was heckled as she arrived with the rapper’s children for his hearing over a host of sex trafficking and racketeering charged.
Janice Combs, 84, looked somber in oversized glasses and a fur coat, as she clutched onto a supporter’s arm as they walked to the courthouse.
The pensioner kept her head down as she exited a black car to the sound of furious crowds gathered outside the venue, where Diddy, 54, is gearing up for a blockbuster case.
‘Janice, your son is a predator,’ one man shouted. ‘Your son is a predator and he deserves to be locked up.’
The rapper’s daughters held hands as they entered the hearing just minutes before it was set to begin.
Jessie James and D’Lila Star, both 17, kept silent as they were asked if they had ‘any comment’ over their father’s trial.
Janice Combs, right, mother of Sean “Diddy Combs, arrives at Manhattan federal court to the jeers of the crowd
Jessie James and D’Lila Star kept silent as they were asked if they had ‘any comment’ over their father’s trial.
The rapper’s daughters held hands as they entered the hearing just minutes before it was set to begin
The children were escorted into the court room as they prepared to face their father’s trial
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was charged with a host of sex trafficking and racketeering offenses following his September 16 arrest
But the response they received from the gathered crowds was more warm than their grandmother’s – as they were told to ‘stick together’ and their guardian was demanded: ‘look after those girls’.
The judge offered Diddy a trial date on May 5, on the request of his legal team. Prosecutors said they estimate their cause will take about three weeks, while Combs’ lawyers say they’ll need about a week to make their case.
They further filed a motion for an evidentiary hearing, accusing the government of leaking sensitive information from the case.
Concerns have been raised about how surveillance footage of Diddy beating his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a hotel was made public.
Diddy’s attorney said: ‘A series of unlawful government leaks, which have led to damaging, highly prejudicial pre-trial publicity that can only taint the jury pool and deprive Mr. Combs of his right to a fair trial.’
Cassie could still be called to testify as a star witness during the upcoming trial, despite allegedly signing a non disclosure agreement.
The singer settled a suit with Diddy in November 2023, but her coming forward is widely considered a catalyst in further investigations into Diddy’s behavior.
In her lawsuit, Cassie claimed that Diddy brutally beat and sexually abused her for over a decade throughout their tumultuous relationship.
Since the rapper’s arrest upwards of 120 victims have already come forward, but Diddy maintains his innocence and is demanding a trial as early as spring
Janice Combs has previously slammed the ‘public lynching’ of her son as she blasted the accusations levelled against him as ‘lies’
The pensioner kept her head down as she exited a black car to the sound of furious crowds gathered outside the venue, where Diddy, 54, is gearing up for a blockbuster case
Wearing a tight white dress under a fur coat and oversized sunglasses, she was held by an associate as she approached the court room
Diddy’s chidren arrived at the court house just minutes before the hearing is set to begin
The children exited the black SUV as they crossed to Manhattan Federal Court
Janice Combs has previously slammed the ‘public lynching’ of her son as she blasted the accusations levelled against him as ‘lies’.
‘These lies thrown at him are motivated by those seeking a financial gain, and not justice,’ she said.
‘These individuals saw how quickly my son’s civil legal team settled his ex-girlfriend’s lawsuit, so they believe they can receive a quick payday by falsely accusing my son.
‘It is important to recognize that none of us, regardless of our status, are immune to fear or mistakes. Not being entirely straightforward about one issue does not mean my son is guilty of the repulsive allegations and the grave charges leveled against him.
‘The worst part of this ordeal is watching my beloved son be stripped of his dignity, not for what he did, but for what people choose to believe about him.’
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was charged with a host of sex trafficking and racketeering offenses following his September 16 arrest.
Since then upwards of 120 victims have already come forward, but Diddy maintains his innocence and is demanding a trial as early as spring.
During the searches of Combs’ homes earlier this year, law enforcement seized narcotics, videos of the performances and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, according to prosecutors.
They said agents also seized firearms and ammunition, including three AR-15s with defaced serial numbers in his bedroom closet in Miami.
Janice continued, ‘Watching the world make jokes and laugh at my son’s life crumbling before our eyes is something I can never forget.
‘It is truly agonizing to watch the world turn against my son so quickly and easily over lies and misconceptions, without ever hearing his side or affording him the opportunity to present his side.’
She said that ‘like every human being, my son deserves to have his day in court, to finally share his side, and to prove his innocence.’
It comes after it was revealed Diddy’s mother Janice Combs and twin daughters visited him at his Brooklyn jail this week, according to TMZ.
The publication described the reunion as ’emotional.’
Diddy is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center after his request for bail was denied.
It comes amid revelations Diddy’s mother Janice Combs and twin daughters visited him at his Brooklyn jail this week. He is seen here with his mother in New Jersey at the MTV Music Awards in September 2023
His high-powered legal team are gearing up for what will be a blockbuster trial, and Diddy ‘asserted his right to a speedy trial’ in a filing seen by DailyMail.com to the U.S. Department of Justice.
It’s understood concerns have been raised about how surveillance footage of Diddy beating his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a hotel was made public.
Diddy’s attorney said: ‘A series of unlawful government leaks, which have led to damaging, highly prejudicial pre-trial publicity that can only taint the jury pool and deprive Mr. Combs of his right to a fair trial.’
Diddy is seeking access to a mountain of data the prosecution has seized since they raided his Miami and Los Angeles homes in March 2024.
In all, prosecutors are copying more than 40 electronic devices belonging to the star.
‘Discovery in this case is voluminous, totaling several terabytes of electronic material,’ the government argued in the latest filing.
There are 1,000 gigabytes per terabyte of data, meaning the government is currently sifting through thousands of gigabytes worth of potentially crucial information.
This includes cellphones, laptops, tablets, hard drives, cloud accounts from both Diddy and third parties.
Diddy is seeking access to a mountain of data the prosecution has seized since they raided his Miami and Los Angeles homes in March 2024
Additionally, prosecutors are scouring business records from financial institutions, phone companies, hotels and airlines as they build their case.
Lawyers for Diddy said: ‘We understand that the government seized a significant amount of Mr. Combs’ electronic devices and data pursuant to search warrants that were executed on March 25, 2024.
‘The government also seized additional devices belonging to Mr. Combs at the time of his arrest about three weeks ago.
‘The timely production of these materials is critical to Mr. Combs’ ability to prepare his defense.’
His lawyers argued that because the devices in question ‘belong to Mr Combs, their production should not be delayed by the government’s initial review for responsiveness and privilege.
‘The government has indicated they will be able to produce these devices in the next 30 days.’
The government has argued it will take days to even copy the data from the devices ‘due to the volume of materials’, but has vowed to ‘make rolling productions within the next thirty days of hard drives that were seized from the defendant.’
In the filing, the government said it hopes to hand over all discovery by the end of the year.
In September a federal judge denied the rapper bail after he denied the charges and offered up his and his mother’s Miami homes as collateral
Diddy and his mother are seen sharing a smooch again in June 2022, at the BET Awards red carpet
An attorney representing Diddy’s accusers said his phone was ringing off the hook with people wanting to share their own horror stories.
In all, he has about 120 clients – 25 of whom say they were minors at the time the alleged offending took place.
He’s also gearing up to name other high-profile people who could soon be caught up in the allegations.
‘We want to make sure if we name individuals beyond Mr Combs that we have done our homework because it is going to create a firestorm, and we understand that.
‘If you were there in the room, participated, watched it happen and didn’t say anything or helped cover it up, in my view, you have a problem.’
Buzbee vowed to pursue the cases against any offender ‘aggressively’, and said the scope was broad.
In the wake of his arrest, all of Diddy’s celebrity friendships have been under scrutiny. Photographs from his infamous parties have resurfaced, with guests and witnesses speaking out about the debauchery which often took place.
Buzbee previously said people would be ‘shocked’ by the names he’s heard during the course of his investigation.