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Sean "Diddy" Combs is now a criminal defendant in a sex trafficking, racketeering and kidnapping case after a grand jury indicted him ... this according to official documents.

Diddy has been charged with 3 counts -- racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution.

According to the indictment, from 2008 to the present, members of the Combs enterprise allegedly engaged in sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, coercion and enticement to engage in prostitution, narcotics offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.

According to the indictment, the purpose of the Combs enterprise was to operate a global business in the media, entertainment, and lifestyle industries. The purpose also includes preserving Diddy's power and fulfilling his personal desires, especially in relation to his sexual gratification, including through the exploitation of women and the use of commercial sex workers.

The indictment mentions the now-famous "Freak off" parties ... calling them "elaborate and produced sex performances that Combs arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded."

The indictment alleges Combs lured women into his orbit under the pretense of a romantic relationship and then used force, threats of force, and coercion, to cause victims to engage in extended sex acts with male commercial sex workers.

After the freak offs, Combs and the victims typically received IV fluids to recover from the physical exertion and drug use.

The indictment does not include details on the kidnapping allegations, other than they occurred in California, as did arson and bribery.

As for the drug charges, they allegedly involve the intent to distribute narcotics, including cocaine, oxycodone, Xanax, GHB -- the "date rape" drug -- MDMA and ketamine.

The indictment references what was seized during the raids at Diddy's homes in Beverly Hills and Miami -- various freak off supplies, including narcotics and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant. They also seized firearms, including 3 AR-15s with defaced serial numbers and a drum magazine.

The indictment also includes allegations of violence against women. He's alleged to have assaulted women by striking, punching, dragging, throwing objects at and kicking them. It references a March 2016 incident at an L.A. hotel captured on video, and this is clearly referencing the Cassie incident.

There's more ... prosecutors say in late 2023, following public allegations of the crimes, Combs and his associates would pressure victims and witnesses, including through attempted bribery, to say silent.

Tuesday morning, Diddy's son's King and Justin were in lower Manhattan, outside Federal court, awaiting their father's appearance before a judge.

If convicted on all counts, Diddy faces decades in prison.

His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said going into the courthouse, he will "fight like hell" to get his client released on bail. Agnifilo said his client is not only not guilty, but outright innocent.

Diddy will appear before a judge Tuesday morning where the charges will be read.

TMZ broke the story ... Diddy was arrested Monday night at the Park Hyatt hotel in midtown Manhattan, where he had been staying. Law enforcement sources told TMZ ... the arrest was supposed to go down Tuesday but something happened to accelerate it.

Aubrey O'Day, who had a contentious relationship with Diddy during filming of "Making the Band," tells TMZ, "I never thought I would see this day. We all buried this inside of us in order to be able to keep going. And not just me, but victims you don't even know yet. We are all processing what that type of vindication can actually feel like now. Every conversation I've had with victims last night has been beyond moving on all levels."

Diddy never seemed happier than on the streets of his hometown of New York Monday night -- a scene that offered no hint the music mogul would soon end up in federal custody facing a criminal indictment.

TMZ obtained new video of Diddy interacting with several excited fans on a darkened street in Midtown Manhattan approximately 30 minutes before federal agents arrested him at the Park Hyatt hotel nearby.

Check out the footage ... Diddy was having a very friendly chat with four dudes -- and everyone was wearing bright smiles on their faces. Diddy was so energized he gave a handshake to one of the guys who bowed and started laughing.

The Secret Service is once again facing heat after the agency's acting director Ronald Rowe Jr. admitted the West Palm Beach golf course wasn't searched prior to the 2nd assassination attempt on Donald Trump's life.

Rowe -- who stepped into the role after Kimberly Cheatle resigned following the July shooting at Trump's Pennsylvania rally -- spoke with reporters Monday, and confessed an extensive search of the grounds was not conducted during 45's visit to the Trump International Golf Club in Florida Sunday ... defending the visit was "not on [Trump's] official schedule."

He added ... "The president wasn’t even really supposed to go there ... and so we put together a security plan -- and that security plan worked."

Aubrey O'Day is weighing in on Sean "Diddy" Combs' arrest in NYC ... posting a cryptic message online about "justice" to her followers, and sharing her reaction with TMZ.

The Danity Kane singer took to Instagram Monday amid the news of Diddy's booking in the Big Apple, where she shared a message about the "purpose of justice."

She wrote ... "The purpose of justice is to provide an ending and allow us the space to create a new chapter. Women never get this. I feel validated. Today is a win for women all over the world, not just for me."

8:05 PM PT -- Just a couple hours before Diddy got busted, he was confidently strolling around NYC with his son Christian "King" Combs. He even stopped to greet some fans and take selfies.

7:13 PM PT -- A law enforcement source tells TMZ ... Diddy's arrest was scheduled for Tuesday. But something happened that caused the feds to move in a day earlier.

However, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams says federal agents took him in based on a sealed indictment filed by the Southern District of New York.

Diddy was just arrested and taken into federal custody in New York Monday night ... TMZ has learned.

Sources tell TMZ ... Homeland Security swooped into a midtown hotel late Monday where Diddy was staying and they arrested him. We have unconfirmed reports the feds are searching his hotel room.

We're told Diddy was taken to the federal building in lower Manhattan.

It appears the action was taken in connection with the ongoing criminal investigation into alleged sex trafficking and other offenses that led to search warrants being issued and executed at Diddy's homes in Beverly Hills and Miami. As we reported, a grand jury has been hearing testimony from various accusers over the last few months.

Matthew Perry relied on doctors to fuel his addiction, and turns out that's just the tip of the iceberg.

TMZ Studios has a new documentary -- "TMZ Investigates Matthew Perry and the Secret Celebrity Drug Ring" -- which drops today, Tuesday, on Hulu.

Several celebrities, including Kelly Osbourne, talk about how it's common knowledge in Hollywood that doctors provide specific drugs to celebrities. For her part, Kelly was able to score Vicodin and Oxy from various Hollywood doctors. And get this ... she was 13 at the time and the doctors never told her mom and dad what they were prescribing their daughter.

A Philadelphia Eagles superfan spent part of his Monday night in a world of pain ... and it's all 'cause he took a huge bump to the chest from Jason Kelce at a parking lot party.

It all went down just prior to the Eagles' "Monday Night Football" game against the Atlanta Falcons at Lincoln Financial Field ... where Kelce was trying to rowdy up some fans at a tailgate outside of the stadium.

The former Birds offensive lineman hopped on the mic and gave an epic pump-up speech ... and to put an exclamation point on things -- he brought Chris Dunphy out for a fun celebration.

There's no crying in baseball, but Guardians manager Stephen Vogt made an exception Monday night ... breaking down in tears after Cleveland capped off a wild comeback win!!

The Guards were playing catchup for most of their crucial divisional matchup against the Minnesota Twins ... but things swayed in their favor when Kyle Manzardo hit a clutch homer to put his squad up 4-3 in the bottom of the 8th inning.

The first-year skipper met with the media after Cleveland's 87th dub of the season ... and he couldn't help but choke back tears when talking about his players.

Canelo Alvarez's strength and punching power may scare some boxers, but not Terence Crawford, who tells TMZ Sports he's absolutely sure he'd get the victory over the Mexican superstar if the two fought.

Of course, at the moment, it's a big "if" ... as even though Crawford's made it clear he wants the scrap -- Canelo doesn't seem so sure.

If you missed it, following his Saturday night victory over Edgar Berlanga -- which Crawford actually attended -- Canelo said straight up "no comment" when asked about a potential tilt with Bud.

Before this cutie pie in her purple top turned into an American actress, she was just hittin' the sunny beaches of SoCal with her younger sis, attending school in Santa Monica and dreaming of seeing herself on the big screen one day ...

She first popped up on the scene starring in a popular rom-com movie with her mama, and just a couple years later she would appear again with her mom in the film "Knocked Up" ... and also with her sister.

Perhaps you'd most recognize her portraying Lexi Howard on HBO's "Euphoria" with Zendaya.

Miley Cyrus copied a popular Bruno Mars song for her hit "Flowers" ... at least according to a new lawsuit.

The singer is being sued for copyright infringement by Tempo Music Investments, a company claiming it owns a share of the copyright for Bruno's song "When I Was Your Man."

In the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Tempo Music claims there are so many musical similarities between Miley's "Flowers" and Bruno's "When I Was Your Man" that it's obviously the result of Miley "intentionally copying" Bruno.

Donald Trump is live on Elon Musk's app ... and he's praising the civilian who helped lead police straight to the man suspected of trying to shoot the former president.

Trump co-hosted a Spaces on X interview and he's talking about a wide range of topics, including Sunday's foiled would-be assassination attempt. He says a witness saw the suspect running to his car and snapped photos of him, his car and his license plate and fed it to cops, helping them track the guy down.

As we reported ... Trump was golfing Sunday morning at his club in West Palm Beach when the Secret Service noticed a rifle sticking out of some bushes and opened fire.

Ryan Wesley Routh, the man accused of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf course, once exposed himself to a woman who hired him to do construction on her home ... TMZ has learned.

We obtained a photo of a shirtless Ryan with his penis poking out of his fly ... and the woman who took the photo says she snapped it in December 2020, when he was building a loft at her home in Hawaii.

The woman tells TMZ ... she found Ryan on Facebook and paid him $4,000 for a 4-day home construction job ... only to find out he was a "bit of a pervert," as she described him.

The craze surrounding HBO's docuseries "Chimp Crazy" has become quite profitable for the sanctuary now housing the show's star, Tonka the Chimp.

A rep for Save the Chimps tells TMZ ... all eyes are on their nonprofit after Tonka was seen thriving there in the final episode of "Chimp Crazy," which was created by the same director as "Tiger King."

In fact, Save the Chimps has seen a notable increase in donations ... a 200% increase, to be exact.

A high school cheerleader who recently impressed judges on "America's Got Talent" has tragically died ... with her death being investigated as a suicide.

High schooler Emily Gold, 17, was found dead under a bridge on the eastbound 210 Freeway in Rancho Cucamonga, California just before midnight Friday. Law enforcement sources tell TMZ she is believed to have jumped from an overpass above and landed on the freeway below.

We're told CHP got 911 calls about a pedestrian down in the carpool lane, and when authorities arrived, they found at least one vehicle had run over Gold ... and didn't stop.