Hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs has pleaded not guilty to three charges - racketeering, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution
A Manhattan judge has ordered Combs to remain in detention until his trial starts
Prosecutors allege Combs used his vast business empire to threaten, violently assault and coerce women to “fulfil his sexual desires”
The arrest in Manhattan follows raids on two of his properties in Los Angeles and Miami in March as part of an "ongoing investigation" into sex trafficking
Combs's lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said they were "disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution"
Warning: This page contains distressing details
Earlier, an attorney for Combs said that the rapper is being co-operative with prosecutors' inquiries.
Williams bats those comments away, saying that the term "co-operative has taken on tremendous elasticity".
"Responding to lawful process and the like does not qualify as co-operation when we use that term here," he says.
The US Attorney says prosecutors will be seeking pre-trial detention for Combs and have submitted a letter with their reasons why.
"There is a presumption of detention in a case like this," Damian Williams says.
Williams is now taking questions from reporters, and reiterates he is not taking "anything off the table" in terms of filing additional charges against Combs.
The prosecutor is then asked multiple times about the number of victims, to which he responds that there are "multiple" victims.
Williams was also asked to expand on the allegations of arson mentioned in the indictment, but refuses to expand on what was written in the indictment.
Image source, Getty ImagesSean "Diddy" Combs (L) is seen receiving the Key to the City from Mayor Eric Adams
A year ago, Combs stood in Times Square and was handed a key to New York City, Williams said.
Today he is indicted, Williams says, adding that the investigation is not over into Combs's alleged crimes.
Image source, ReutersUS Attorney Damian Williams says that during searches of Combs properties, footage of the so-called "freak offs" were found by investigators on mobile phones.
Officials also found more than 1,000 bottles of lubricant allegedly used in the "freak-offs", he says, while stashes of firearms and ammunition were also said to have been discovered.
Williams is recounting an incident in which he alleges Combs tried to bribe a hotel worker with a "stack of cash" after he was caught on tape being violent with a woman who was trying to flee a hotel room.
Williams says Combs made phone calls to witnesses and victims giving them a false narrative of what they had experienced and used others to help "conceal his abuse".
Combs was not alone in these acts of violence, the district attorney continues.
He used his business and employees to get his way, Williams says.
Those individuals allegedly included high ranking supervisors, personal assistants, security staff and household staff to help facilitate these alleged crimes.
Prosecutors are detailing how Combs allegedly used drugs - such as ketamine, ecstasy and GHB - to victims to "keep them obedient and compliant".
"When he didn't get his way, he was violent," says Damian Williams, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Williams says Combs was highly violent towards women who refused to take part in the "freak offs", or sex performances.
These assaults, which Williams says included kicking and dragging of the victims by their hair, often resulted in injuries which took "days or weeks to heal".
Combs also used sensitive recordings he made of the "freak offs" as "collateral" against the victims to maintain control over them.
Williams goes on to outline details of the indictment, including that Combs allegedly transported people over state lines to perform "freak offs" or sex performances.
He controlled those performances - which sometimes lasted days - Williams says.
Damian Williams, the Southern District of New York US Attorney, is outlining the charges against Sean Combs.
He says the charges against the rapper include kidnapping, bribery, and that Combs abused women and other victims for years.
He says Combs forced women to engage in sexual intercourse with other men.
Image source, ReutersProsecutors with the Southern District of New York who brought the charges against Sean "Diddy" Combs are now holding a news conference.
Alongside the plinth is a board showing images of some of evidence gathered by investigators.
As a reminder, you can click watch live above to follow what they have have to say.
We're waiting to hear from prosecutors in New York who are expected to hold a news conference in the next few minutes following the charges against Combs being released.
You can watch their comments live at the top of the page, and we'll be bringing you the key lines here.
John Sudworth
North America Correspondent
For decades Sean Combs has been a titan of the music world.
A rapper and producer with his own record label, from the early 90s onwards he’s been instrumental in the rise of hip hop as a global commercial force.
But a 14-page indictment, listing his assumed stage names including Puff Daddy, P Diddy and Love, accuses Combs of turning his giant business empire into a criminal enterprise in which he and his associates engaged in sex trafficking, racketeering and transporting individuals to engage in prostitution.
It describes a longstanding pattern of threatening, violently assaulting and coercing women to “fulfil his sexual desires”.
In a statement before the charges were made public, his lawyers called the prosecution “unjust”. Combs, they said, was an imperfect person but not a criminal.
Aerial footage shows raids at Sean 'Diddy' Combs's properties
As we reported earlier, prosecutors say AR-15 style rifles with "defaced" serial numbers were found during searches of Combs's properties.
The raids made headlines earlier this year, after footage emerged of armed officers swarming the rapper's home.
The Department of Homeland Security said it had pursued the "law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation" in New York, Los Angeles and Miami at the time.
One of the raids was carried out at the 17,000 square foot mansion where Combs announced his latest album release last September.
Among the details revealed in the newly-released indictment was a list of drugs Combs is accused of possessing with the intent to distribute, prosecutors allege.
The drugs include cocaine, oxycodone and ketamine.
Let's return now to the indictment against Sean Combs, and bring you some details on allegations that members of the rapper's "enterprise" enabled and exercised control over victims.
This was allegedly done through directions "regarding financial payments to victims, advancing suppressing the victims' career opportunities, and acquiring the controlled substances", prosecutors say.
Members of the "Combs enterprise" were witness to this violence and the injuries he caused and watched this happen without intervening, prosecutors allege.
"Instead, members and associates of the Combs enterprise helped conceal the violence and abuse by, among other things, assisting Combs in monitoring and preventing victims from leaving locations, such as hotels or Combs's residences," the indictment alleges.
Those instances led a victim to remain in hiding to recover from injuries inflicted by Combs, the indictment claims.
"Members and associates of the Combs enterprise also assisted Combs in locating and contacting victims who attempted to flee his abuse," the indictment says.
It's been about an hour since the 14-page indictment against Sean "Diddy" Combs was released by the Southern District of New York.
We're now awaiting a news conference from prosecutors who brought the charges against the music mogul, which is expected to begin at 11:30 EST (16:30 BST).
We'll be bringing you updates on what they have to say, and you'll be able to follow along by clicking watch live at the top of the page.
Image source, ReutersKing Combs
We've just spotted images of Sean "Diddy" Combs's sons arriving at court in Manhattan after their father was arrested.
King Combs and Quincy Brown, two of Combs's seven children, were pictured at the United States Court in the last half hour.
Image source, ReutersQuincy Brown
Image source, Getty ImagesFollowing his arrest last night and before the indictment was unsealed earlier, Combs's lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, issued a statement saying his client is innocent.
He said they were "disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution".
Agnifilo added that Combs was looking forward to "clearing his name in court".
“Sean 'Diddy' Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man, and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children, and working to uplift the black community," the lawyer said in a written statement to the BBC.
We haven't heard from Agnifilo yet following the charges against Combs being released, but will bring you any further comments from him as we get them.
Image source, Getty ImagesWe've been able to read through a large chunk of the 14-page indictment against Sean "Diddy" Combs, which details an elaborate alleged sex trafficking "empire" that prosecutors say he used to sexually abuse women and traffic victims across state and international lines.
Here are some of the main takeaways.