Sean ‘Diddy' Combs had First Amendment right to film twisted ‘freak-offs,' lawyers say
The jailed rap tycoon made the head-scratching claim as part of his bid to toss his July prostitution conviction for setting up baby-oil-fueled 'freak-offs' with gigalos who traveled across state lines.
'Mr. Combs's amateur porn, like many other adult films, was creative, intricate, and highly choreographed,' Combs' lawyer, Alexandra Shapiro, wrote in a court filing late Wednesday night.
3 Sean Combs says he has a First Amendment right to film his 'freak-off' sessions with male escorts.
ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA
Upholding Combs' conviction would thus breach his freedom of speech rights because the sex tapes have 'expressive content and are protected by the First Amendment,' the attorney added.
Jurors at Combs' salacious two-month-long trial heard evidence that the admitted woman beater used the threat of releasing ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura's sex tapes to keep Ventura under his thumb.
'I feared for my career. I feared for my family. It's just embarrassing. It's horrible and disgusting. No one should do that to anyone,' Ventura testified.
The court also heard accounts of Combs repeatedly beating Ventura, and forcing another lover, 'Jane,' to have sex with an escort hours after kicking, choking and punching her in a brutal assault.
3 Combs faces up to 10 years in prison on two prostitution counts at his October sentencing.
Marlon Reid / MEGA
'Is this coercion?' Combs chillingly asked 'Jane' — who testified using an alias — before ordering her to perform oral sex on the male sex worker, the woman told jurors.
But the jury nonetheless acquitted Combs of charges of coercing Ventura and 'Jane' into the sex acts after his lawyers cited explicit texts the women sent him before and after the sexual encounters.
Combs, 55, now faces up to 10 years in prison on two counts of breaking the Mann Act, a federal law making it a crime to transport someone across state lines for prostitution.
Judge Arun Subramanian has cited the 'I'll Be Missing U' rapper's admitted violence toward his exes in ordering Combs to stay at a hellish Brooklyn lockup until his Oct. 3 sentencing date.
3 Combs' lawyers claimed at his Manhattan trial that he was guilty of domestic violence, but not sex trafficking.
REUTERS
Combs' lawyers successfully claimed at trial that he was guilty of domestic violence, but not the sex trafficking and racketeering raps that the feds had charged him with.
'Domestic violence is the issue. 'We own it,' defense attorney Marc Agnifilo told jurors.
Wednesday's filing is Combs' lawyers' bid to get Subramanian to toss the jury verdict himself.
Trial judges rarely take such a drastic step. But the rapper will likely revisit the argument after his sentencing, when he's set to lobby the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn his conviction.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
3 minutes ago
- New York Post
Kathy Hochul ‘willing' to consider Raise the Age reforms as she takes victory lap on discovery tweaks
ALBANY – Changes to New York's criminal evidence discovery rules go into effect this week, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday — while signaling she's 'willing to look at' controversial 'Raise the Age' reforms next. The Democrat may not look to pick a fight on Raise the Age — which upped the age of adult criminal responsibility from 16 to 18 — as she's up for re-election in 2026 and following a bruising battle with lawmakers on changes to laws that govern evidence-sharing requirements in criminal cases. Hochul said the tweaks, which go into effect Thursday, are meant to stop cases from being dismissed on technicalities because of reforms that then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state legislature pushed through in 2019. 'That whole case they built to show society that there will be justice for victims is turned upside down on its head, and there was no justice for victims. So, my goal is to stop this,' Hochul said. Gov. Kathy Hochul celebrated changes to New York's discovery laws, which go into effect Thursday. Hans Pennink The five New York City district attorneys, Alvin Bragg, Darcel Clark, Eric Gonzalez, Melinda Katz and Vince McMahon, allied with Hochul in pushing for the changes. Law enforcement officials and some Democratic politicians are now calling for changes to Raise the Age. 'If there's conversations about Raise the Age, the legislative session is the time to do that, and I would certainly entertain conversations on every topic related to criminal justice,' Hochul said. Raise the Age was signed into law by Cuomo in 2017 and directs 16 and 17-year-old offenders to have their cases heard by family court judges, even in serious felonies such as murder. The reforms were meant to set up youth offenders with resources to try to stop them from becoming repeat offenders, something Hochul has said is an area that should be addressed. 'The money that was allocated for programs as alternatives has not gotten out fast enough,' she said. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and other DA's had pushed for the discovery reforms. REUTERS Hochul is facing calls to take on the issue, especially after 10 people were shot, including one killed, during multiple volleys of gunfire and a house was razed with a flare gun following a fireworks display near the state capitol in Albany on July 4. Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan and Police Chief Brendan Cox ripped Raise The Age in a press conference shortly after the July 4th shootings. 'I don't say that a lot of 15-year-olds need to be taken off the street and put away, but if a 15-year-old is walking down the street and just indiscriminately firing into a crowd, well, I hate to say it, but they got to be taken off the street and they got to go away,' Cox said. Albany District Attorney Lee Kindlon, a Democrat and former defense attorney, has also called for changes to the statute.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
NYC district attorneys will get $17M in new funding to beef up staffing, investigations: Adams
City district attorneys' offices are getting a $17 million influx of cash to beef up staffing and investigations, including on cybercrime, Mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday. Adams highlighted the record-breaking $633 million total in funding for the five DAs and the office of the special narcotics prosecutor earmarked as part of the city's roughly $116 billion budget for the 2026 fiscal year, which was approved in June. 'I heard from all my DAs that we're having a real personnel issue,' Adams said from the City Hall rotunda alongside four of the district attorneys. Advertisement 'AI can never give way to a good ADA,' he quipped. The boost adds to the $616 million previously allocated for the DAs and special narcotics prosecutor. The district attorneys had said they desperately needed extra money in the already record-breaking fiscal plan — which Adams has dubbed the 'Best Budget Ever' — to hire and retain more prosecutors. Advertisement 3 Funding for district attorneys has increased 23% since the beginning of the Adams administration, according to city hall. REUTERS 'They are the real law and order,' Adams said. 'They are front and center in dealing with public safety, and we are going to make sure we give them the resources to do their job.' Bronx DA Darcel Clark said the new funding, of which her office is getting $6.08 million, will allow her overworked office to hire 24 new assistant district attorneys and to fully staff a Youth Justice Bureau to help address gun violence and recidivism among young people. 'These funds are a game changer for the criminal justice system,' Clark said. Advertisement 3 Bronx DA Darcel Clark said the money will be used to hire more prosecutors and to fully staff a youth diversion program. James Messerschmidt Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, whose office is getting a $2.98 million boost, said the windfall will be a 'critical piece' of keeping assistant district attorneys on the job, 'in particular the mid-level prosecutors, those that are really carrying a very important part of our docket.' 'We have attrition in that area, so this will really help us with those ranks,' Bragg said. Queens DA Melinda Katz was 'happy and grateful' for the extra $1.75 million her office was allocated to build a new crime lab to process digital evidence, she said. Advertisement Staten Island DA Michael McMahon said his office was given $970,000 to hire more staff to deal with rising cyber crime. 'Just two days ago, a 76 year old woman scammed out of $209,000 — her lifetime savings — and it was through a cyber scam,' McMahon noted. 'This will allow all kinds of technological abilities to go after those who are taking advantage of too many.' 3 Staten Island DA Michael McMahon said his office will use the money on new technology to help prosecute cyber criminals. Michael McWeeney Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez couldn't make the news conference because of a planned vacation, Adams said, but his office is getting an extra $5.6 million to hire 20 new ADAs and six paralegals to reduce case backlogs and help meet discovery evidence requirements. 'A strong city is a safe city and that is why our city is strong right now. Because we focus on it being safe,' Adams said as he held up The Post's Tuesday front page about shootings in New York City hitting at an all-time low so far this year. The Adams administration allocated the largest share of the $633 million — $180 million — to the Manhattan DA's office. Brooklyn received $157.9 million; the Bronx received $128.3 million; Queens received $108.1 million; Staten Island received $27 million; and the Special Narcotics Prosecutor's office received $31.7 million. Adams held the press conference the day before revamped state discovery laws take effect. Advertisement The new laws, which are designed to make discovery requirements less burdensome by reducing the scope of materials prosecutors have to provide, also came with more money from the state, McMahon said. 'We also received additional funding for discovery from the state, and working that with the money from the mayor today, that will allow our offices to have the tools and the resources and the personnel to get that voluminous (discovery) material,' McMahon said.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Federal judge sides with a Utah religion that uses ‘magic mushrooms,' citing new state law
PROVO, Utah () — A U.S. District Court Judge recently ruled in favor of a Utah faith group that is known for using psychedelic mushrooms. On Nov. 11, 2024, Bridger Lee Jensen, founder of the religious group Singularism, was searched and detained at the faith's 'spiritual center' by officers with Provo City Police Department, court documents show. Undercover officers posed as individuals interested in the faith in order to obtain information about the members' use of psilocybin, commonly known as 'magic mushrooms.' 'The judge has recognized this for what it is. It's retaliatory charges that came in bad faith,' Jensen told ABC4. One week after the search, Jensen filed a lawsuit against Utah County and Provo City claiming police violated the faith's constitutional rights of exercising sincere religious beliefs under the First Amendment. Jensen says the county weaponized the criminal justice system to shut down his religious group. 'I just want the same freedoms that… I am afforded by the constitution.' Singularism frequently use 'sacramental psilocybin' as part of spiritual ceremonies. The group's website details its mission to provide a 'sacred space where science and spirituality unite.' Many of the faith's practicing members say they found the faith looking for healing from trauma. 'We integrate the profound potency of psilocybin, a revered entheogenic substance with long standing religious use, into our own ceremonies as a means to facilitate deep spiritual connections,' the website reads. The faith cited a 2024 state law, which gave additional protections to religious groups, when claiming their right to use magic mushrooms. New state law , which went into effect on May 1, 2024, prohibits the government from 'burdening a person's free exercise of religion,' adding further protection for faith groups. The law further details instances when such a burden is warrant saying it must be essential to 'furthering a compelling governmental interest and is the least restrictive means of furthering that interest.' In the ruling, the court found that Jensen properly brought the RFRA law before the court, citing the county imposed a 'substantial burden' on sincere religious exercise. Jensen says Singularism is the first to use the RFRA law in defense of religious practices, claiming the group is also the first to be granted the right to use magic mushrooms. 'We have the right to do what we are doing.' Utah County and Provo City recently filed a motion to dismiss the case, citing the Utah Controlled Substances Act. However, the motion was denied by U.S. District Judge Jill Parrish, who also issued an order ceasing further proceedings in the case, granting Jensen's motion to restrain his criminal case. ABC4 reached out to Provo City for a statement, but declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation. Setting precedent 'We were really thankful for support from the court,' Jensen said following the ruling. 'We've just been looking to solve this the whole time and make peace.' Final judgment in the case is still pending in the court, but Jensen says he's optimistic about what the ruling means for other religious groups. 'When you protect the religious freedoms of one religion, you protect the freedoms of all of them,' he said. Latest headlines: Miss United States accuses GOP Rep. Cory Mills of threatening to release explicit videos of her School Guardian Program: State security chief explains Utah's newest approach to security and safety Utah debates in limbo as Utah Debate Commission founder exits blasting GOP Federal judge sides with a Utah religion that uses 'magic mushrooms,' citing new state law The longest winning streak in baseball history happened in SLC, and is now a film Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
