Ex- Hotel Security Guard Testifies Diddy Tried To Silence Him After Hotel Assault Incident

In a chilling twist during the first days of Sean "Diddy" Combs' federal trial, a former hotel security guard offered bombshell testimony on May 12, detailing a troubling 2016 run-in with the music mogul that ultimately concluded with a reported bribe and three eerie words, "Don't tell anyone." The testimony was in the context of a larger investigation into Combs, who's been indicted on a series of grave charges at the federal level, including racketeering, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transporting people to engage in prostitution. As court proceedings continue to play out, fresh voices are surfacing, and none are more discordant than those of former security guard Israel Florez.

Florez, an experienced officer on duty at the upscale InterContinental hotel in Los Angeles in March 2016, painted a chilling scene for the court. Responding to a disturbance call about a woman in distress, he entered a room containing a hooded, obscured Cassie Ventura, then Combs's girlfriend cowering in the corner, as well as a broken vase of flowers on the ground. Ventura, Florez said, looked scared and confused. "She was scared," he testified from the witness stand. "he was in the corner, hood on, covered up. I couldn't see her face. She was pretty much in the corner. On the floor was a destroyed flower vase."

During his testimony, Florez said that a recorded video surveillance footage later entered as evidence showed Combs punching Ventura moments before the guard entered. He described a tense situation when Combs, eager to defuse the situation, told officers the two were just fighting, and Ventura tried to get her phone back from him during the struggle. Florez said he instinctively barricaded the door to let Ventura escape safely. But what came next was a decision that Florez says has haunted him ever since. Combs reportedly told him to stick around as he walked away from the room. "I started to leave, and Combs called for me," Florez remembered. "He had a sack of money and he threw it at me and said, 'Don't tell anyone."

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Those three words, "Don't tell anyone," are the centerpiece of growing public outcries about Combs' efforts to silence reports of wrongdoing and use his power and money to make other witnesses disappear. The move, said Florez, wasn't just a bribe but was an effort to bury the truth under an avalanche of money and intimidation. It wasn't the final showdown between Combs and the hotel's security staff. When Combs approached them aggressively, he tried to take his and his colleague's phones. We must assume it was to avoid impromptu evidence stills or matching of stories and ushered the group to the door. The confrontation escalated to the point where Florez said he had to physically back Combs into the wall just to get him to calm down.

The room fell silent as the guard explained how Combs attempted to silence witnesses and shape the narrative. Prosecutors are citing this testimony to suggest a pattern of coercion and obstruction, central themes of their case against the Bad Boy Records founder. Though Combs has not commented on Florez's specific allegations in court, his attorney has denied any wrongdoing by his client. However, the extent of Florez's testimony has already rocked media and entertainment circles. As the trial moves on, more witnesses are likely to come forward. But if day one is any indication, the story of the man who calls himself Sean "Diddy" Combs may be much darker than the sparkling public persona he's spent much of the last three decades crafting. And the only thing it took to break that open was three cold words, "Don't tell anyone."